A New Day Has Come
by khughes830
Summary: Post Season 6 Santos Campaign. What happens after Josh brings Donna and Will the beer.
1. Changes in Attitude

**Changes in Attitude**

**Author: **Kathleen

**Email: **Will, Josh and Donna, mostly  
**Pairing(s): **Josh/Donna  
**Category(s): **Romance, Post-Episode _2162 Votes_  
**Rating: TEEN**  
**Disclaimer: **The characters aren't mine, but thank God to Aaron Sorkin for creating them. My life would not have been the same without them.  
**Summary: **What happened after Josh brought Will and Donna beer.  
**Spoiler: **_2162 Votes_

**Author's Notes:** Can I just complain for a sec – we get NOTHING – not a kiss, a hug, anything! It's a little frustrating – and now us J/D Shippers have to wait till like September to see what happens! AHHHHH! Ok, I feel better! So, this is my way with dealing – what happened after the "show" ended!

He knew he should have stayed on the floor as the Congressman made his speech, but he really wanted to be elsewhere. He handed over his binder and notes to Ronna and left her in charge of the floor. There really wasn't much left to do except be there for the Congressman and Leo after they came off the stage and he knew that Ronna could handle that. He told her to call him on his cell if something came up. With that, he went to the Santos room, grabbed the remaining beers out of the small refrigerator in their conference room and headed out to find the Russell camp.

It was just Will and Donna there when he entered quietly. He had no idea where the rest of the staff went and he had heard that the Vice President had headed back to Washington after the vote had finished. The room was quiet except for the television. Will had his head down on the desk. He was obviously feeling very defeated and probably a little lost. Will had been so gun-ho about the Russell campaign that he had actually convinced himself that Russell was the best man for the job. He felt a little sorry for Will – he knew the feeling of frustration and defeat. He had felt that way many, many years ago while he had worked for John Hoynes.

Donna was harder to read. He hadn't had much practice of late, but what he saw surprised him. He had expected Donna to be reacting the same way that Will was – lost, defeated, upset – but she wasn't. The look on her face was a mixture of defeat, awe, and, he thought, pride.

Without saying a word, he opened up three beers. He placed one next to Will, handed Donna one, and sat down in the chair next to her and took a swig of his beer. This is where he wanted to be – sharing this moment of triumph and defeat with his two friends. No matter what, he still considered these two people to be his friends. Not many people had cared for Will when he joined the West Wing staff, but he saw so much potential in Will, he didn't write him off like Toby and CJ did, especially after he left to work for the Vice-President. While they had had their moments on the campaign, but they had this common bond now – this wild rollercoaster ride of a Democratic primary season – and he now had a new found respect for Will and his passion for politics. He knew it was there all those years ago when he managed to get a dead Democrat elected in the California 47th and he was pleased to know that that passion still lived.

While the President spoke about Matthew Santos and Leo McGarry, he took a moment to look at Donna. He was in awe of this woman – she was far from the naïve girl who walked into New Hampshire all those years ago. She was no longer Josh Lyman's assistant. She was now Donna Moss, political operative, someone to be contended with within the Democratic Party. She watched in awe as the President spoke about the Democratic party, just like she always watched the President speak, and sometimes, how she would sometimes watch him talk when he got going while they sat in his office working on some bill that Leo and the President wanted passed. While she watched television, he watched her in awe and his heart tightened just a little as he saw a small smile come to her face as the President spoke about those that had made his 8 years in the White House legendary and unforgettable.

He turned his attention back to the television as the President introduced Matthew Santos. He had skimmed the Congressman's speech before this had all started, but Santos was well known for doing his own thing, so he had no idea what he would really say.

Donna shifted to get comfortable to watch the speech and Will lifted his head to watch as well. He watched Will look around the room and finally noticed that Josh had joined them.

"Shouldn't you be on the floor?"

It seemed weird to hear someone speak. No one had spoken since he had entered the room.

"Nah, Ronna's got it under control."

Will turned his attention back to the TV as Santos started speaking. Santos started out by thanking the Democratic party for their support and for Leo McGarry for bringing experience and knowledge to this ticket and campaign. He knew what was coming next – the acknowledgements of the other candidates. Santos worked his way through Baker and Hoynes before turning his attention to the Vice-President. "I would also like to thank Vice-President Robert Russell for a well fought campaign. He is a great man and a dedicated public servant and the people of Colorado…"

Josh and Donna both turned as they heard Will groan as he slammed his head on the desk again. He then shot straight up, drained his beer and threw the empty bottle in the trash can.

"I can't listen to this. I've got to get out of here. I've got my cell phone if… nevermind, forget it, I'll be back at some point!"

With that, Will stormed out of the room and slammed the door behind him. Josh looked over at Donna as she stared at the door that Will had just stormed through.

"I should go after him."

"Leave him be Donnatella. He needs to just blow off some steam."

"Are you sure?"

"Believe me, he wants to be alone right now. I know how he's feeling – I had many an episode like that while working for Hoynes on the Hill."

And for the first time in weeks, months, actually, Donna graced him with a full on smile that made his heart flutter just a bit. He watched as she stood up, pulled her chair right next to his, sit back down and place her arm across his shoulders. He responded with a smile of his own, dimples and all, and by placing his right hand over the hand that was now resting on his shoulder. They sat like that through the rest of Matt Santos' speech and through the closing commentary of the anchors on whatever channel Will and Donna had on.

They watched as the network signed off from the Convention floor and went to commercial. As soon as they first commercial was over, Josh's cell phone started ringing. He was very much enjoying the comfortable silence that he and Donna were sharing and was very much getting used to the neck massage she had started giving him. He grunted as she smiled shyly and removed her arm. He just stared at her as she finished her beer while he stood up and answered the phone.

"Josh Lyman."

"Where are you? I was expecting you to be here when we came off stage."

"Sir, I told Ronna to handle everything. I just had somewhere else I wanted to be while you spoke." His eyes never left Donna as he spoke to Santos. He huffed a little when she reached over for his still nearly full beer.

"Josh, I just wanted to say thanks. I know I didn't make this easy for you."

"No sir, you didn't, but it was very enjoyable."

"You know that's not going to change now, right?"

"I hadn't really expected it to Congressman!"

"Well, as long as you realize that. We've got a long battle ahead of us."

"Yes sir, we do!"

"Hold on, Helen wants to talk to you."

"Yes sir." He figured that he was going to be on the phone for a little bit, so he hopped up on the table. He watched Donna get out of the chair, hand him the beer, and hop up next to him. He took a quick swig of the beer and handed it back to Donna as she wrapped her left arm around his waist and laid her temple against his shoulder. He sighed and wrapped his right arm around her shoulders and pulled her a little closer to him.

"Josh!"

"Yes Ma'am."

"Unbelievable!"

"I know Ma'am!"

"What's next?"

"A long campaign battle against a formidable Republican foe Mrs. Santos!"

"You think we can actually do this?"

"Absolutely Ma'am. I'm famous for picking the winners!"

"That you are Josh. Hold on… ok, Matt has just given everyone tomorrow off. He said that everyone needs a day to regroup!"

"I agree Ma'am. Tell him that's fine, but that the four of us really need to meet tomorrow for an hour or so, just some preliminary decisions, stuff like that!"

"Yeah, Leo said you would say that!"

"Leo's a smart man. He's done this before."

"Josh, really, you did a great job!"

"Thank you Mrs. Santos!"

"Hold on, Leo wants to talk to you."

"Yeah, I figured, alright!"

He sighed again as he heard the phone being passed to Leo. He looked down at Donna and saw her staring at him, smiling. He smiled back at her and placed a gentle kiss on her forehead. She had a questioning look on her face, so he responded with "Leo wants to talk to me – surely he will be the last one!" That answered seemed to be what she was looking for, so she snuggled into him a little further and wrapped her other arm around his waist while she waited for him to talk to Leo.

"You there, Josh."

"Yeah. Look, sorry I kind of disappeared on you all, but…"

"Yeah, look, I figured that would happen. Are Will and Donna doing alright?"

Damn, that man just knew him too well. Of everyone, he should have figured that Leo would know where he snuck off to. "You are too smart sometimes."

"Yeah, I get that a lot."

"Well, Will stormed out of here as the Congressman started in on Russell's resume. He's frustrated and very disappointed and probably very tired. He just needed to cool off. He'll be fine."

"Well, good, he's a good kid and he put his heart and soul into the Russell campaign."

"Yeah."

"Can Donna hear me?"

Josh sighed again. He should have figured that Leo would know he wasn't alone. He hit the speaker button phone on the cell and responded "she can now, Leo."

"Donna?"

And for only the second time since he had come in the room, she spoke. "Leo?"

"You did really good work, sweetheart."

"Thank you Leo, that means a lot. Congratulations as well." She spoke all the while staying wrapped around Josh.

"Thanks – a little unexpected, but a fabulous opportunity to do something more, something very different!"

"You are going to make a great Vice-President!"

"Donna, I just wanted to let you know that I'm proud of you, so is the President. We both agree that you seemed very instrumental in the Russell campaign and that he seemed to go far with your help.

Josh could see her getting choked up as Leo spoke, so he knew he was going to have to respond for her. "Leo, great, now you've made her cry. You know I have no idea what to do when Donna cries!"

He heard Leo laugh and then say "Oh, I'm sure you will figure something out. Well, I just wanted to talk to the both of you. Josh, Matt wants to know what time tomorrow."

He sat mesmerized by Donna and they stared at each other. "Later, Leo, later. Like 1 or so."

"Yeah, ok, I get it, later. We'll see you at 1. We'll order food and meet in the Santos' suite."

"Great!"

"And Josh…"

"Yeah?"

"There are many changes on the horizon, many things that need to change, things that should change. Can you see that?"

He pulled Donna closer to him as he responded. "Absolutely Leo. The changes are crystal clear to me now."

"Great, just wanted to make sure you could see that. You two have a good night. Bye Donna."

"Goodnight Leo."

With that, the connection ended. The room was eerily quiet since Donna had put the TV on mute when Josh's cell phone rang. The two of them sat silent, wrapped up in each other. Finally, Josh put the cell phone on the table and wrapped his other arm around Donna's shoulders. He looked down at her and saw her relaxed smile and soft eyes. He thought he could stay like this forever. Finally, he spoke to her.

"So, how you feeling?"

"Unemployed."

"Funny."

"Not really – I kinda don't have a job to go to tomorrow."

"Wait – if you all had won, you were working tomorrow?"

"You know Bingo Bob!"

"Donnatella Moss! After all the times you got on me for, and I quote, 'not respecting the Vice-President', now you come with the Bingo Bob references!"

"Yeah, well, doesn't really matter anymore, huh!"

He just laughed – laughed like he hadn't laughed, well, since before the Gaza trip. He wondered for a moment how they had gotten so far away from each other, but then he remember that they were currently sitting on a table, wrapped up in each other, so he decided to focus on the current situation and not the past.

"Glad you find my current state of unemployment so funny!"

"You wanna get out of here?"

"Absolutely!"

He jumped off the table and grabbed her hand and pulled her off the table and to him. He wrapped his arms around her waist as she did the same to him. They stared at each other for what felt like eternity to him. They smiled and held onto each other when he heard Donna whisper something very unexpected.

"Will."

"I'm sorry, what did you just say!"

"Will."

"Really? Did you really just say 'Will'?"

She smiled sheepishly at him. "Yeah, I kinda did."

"God, Donna. We were totally having a moment, a great moment, a moment I have spent a lot of time thinking about while riding on the back of campaign buses, sleeping across the hall from you in hotels, watching you deal with the press on TV and you have to go and whisper another man's name to me!"

"Ok, we will get back to that whole train of thought in a minute, Joshua, but I should really call Will to make sure he is alright."

He just smiled at her. No matter how much she had changed professionally, she was still the caring, good-natured woman that had spent all that time working with him in the White House.

"Yeah, I guess you should make sure he hasn't thrown himself in the ocean or laid down in front of the Santos for President bus, waiting for it to run him over…"

"Funny man, Joshua, I forgot you were such a funny man." She unwrapped her arms from around his waist and he immediately missed her and how he felt wrapped up in her. He watched her cross the room to her cell phone and dial Will. He grabbed his phone from the table and dropped it into his pocket and walked up behind her.

"Bill Wailey!"

"Will?"

"Yeah, I meant Will, not Bill. Don-nana-nana? Ish that you?"

She started to giggle and Josh wrapped his arms around her waist. She held the phone out from her ear enough so they could both hear what he was saying.

"Oh God – are you drunk?"

"Stinking!"

Josh shook his head and silently laughed at the current state of Will.

"Will, where are you?"

"Don-nana-nana, there is this great bar right next door to the convention shenter… they have the greatest tequila shooters EVER!"

"Will, please tell me you aren't drinking alone?"

"Nope, I'm with…. Hmm… what is his name… that dude that worked for Hoynes. He's definitely drunkener than I am but he's buying, so what do I care?"

Donna just hung her head, not real sure what to do – she knew how to take care of a drunk Josh, but she had never dealt with a drunk Will. She just looked at Josh and he understood. He took the phone from her and started talking to Will.

"Will?"

"Joshshshshsh… dude, you totally kicked my ass tonight!"

"Yeah, sorry about that." As he talked, Donna turned around and re-wrapped her arms around his waist so they were standing as they had been before they decide to call a very drunk Will Bailey.

"No you are not sorry. Don't apologisss to me!"

He just shook his head. "You're right. I'm not sorry. Had a job to do."

"Yeah, well, you did it much weller than me, that's for damn sure."

"Will, are you gonna be alright?"

"Yeah, I'm starting to not feel so well."

"Will, is there a Russell volunteer around that can get you back to your hotel."

"Hmmm…. Lemme look". The other end of the phone was quiet for a minute. "Yeah, there is that girl that Donna said likes me… wish I could remember her name."

He looked at Donna and whispered "the girl that likes Will." She smiled and replied "Becky."

"Will, her name is Becky. After we get off the phone, go ask her to help you back to the hotel."

"Yeah, Becky is so berry cute. Donna was right – I should ask her out, but it didn't feel right while campanning…"

He smiled at Donna while he replied, "I know what you mean, but Will, if you think she might be the real deal, don't waste time. You never know what kind of drama tomorrow may bring."

"Joshshsh, you are a smart man. You know, she was always your girl right? Didn't matter that she was working with me or for Russell. She could be halfway around the world and she would still be your girl, you know that right?"

He pulled Donna closer to him. "Actually, I didn't know that Will, but I'm glad to hear you say that. It's good information to have."

"Well, glad to help. OK, I'm gonna go ask Becky to help me back to the hotel. You think I should ask her out tonight?"

"Will, I would definitely wait until tomorrow – sober would be better for that kind of thing, don't you think?"

"This is why you are useful Lyman. They weren't lying about that Fulbright Scholarship! Tell Don-nana-nana good night for me. Make sure she gets home alright."

"Absolutely. Goodnight Will."

He snapped the cell phone closed. He looked down at her and smiled. "You hungry?"

"You buying?"

"When aren't I buying?"

"Then I'm hungry."

He laughed, placed a kiss on her forehead. They unwrapped their arms from around each other and walked out the door hand in hand.

The area around the convention center was starting to become deserted by the time they exited through the main door out into the night. It was a perfect night – warm, but not too warm, with no clouds in the sky. He turned Donna toward him and grabbed her free hand.

"So, Miss Moss, what would you like to eat? We can just walk until we find a place that looks good, if you want."

"No."

"No? I thought you were hungry."

She giggled. "No, I meant no, I don't want to go sit in some crowded restaurant where we can barely hear each other. I would prefer to get take out and go sit somewhere. It's such a beautiful night – I hate to waste it inside."

He just watched her talk. Her blue eyes and the way she was rubbing her thumbs along both of his hands mesmerized him. "We can do whatever you want Donna – hell, I'd take you to Paris tonight if you asked me to."

"Well, not that I don't appreciate the offer, but you do need to be back at the hotel at 1 tomorrow to meet with the Santos' and Leo – that might be a bit much."

He just smiled.

"Ok, well, let me see.." He looked around the area and pointed across the street. "Well, I've gotten food from that store quite a bit this past week, they are kinda a catch-all store, I can get just about anything from there."

She seemed quite on board with that idea. "Ok, you go over and get the food – I've got to go back up to the room for something."

He started getting that 'I'm gonna whine' look on his face. She did her best to stifle a laugh.

"DONNA! You aren't coming with me?"

"No, Joshua, you will be fine. I'm gonna go back upstairs and get a couple of blankets so we can go sit on the beach – it's just a few blocks from here. This time of night, it should be mostly quiet and deserted, if you are starting to catch my drift!"

Oh, he definitely liked this idea much better than some stuffy restaurant. "Yeah, yeah, yeah. Ok, but hurry. What do you want to eat?"

"Surprise me Joshua!"

"Always Donnatella."

With that, she placed a light kiss on his cheek and ran back through the doors. All he could do was sigh as he watched her walk inside. He started across the street to the store. 'This is as it should be' he thought to himself. 'She seems to be on the same page as me, hopefully.'

Josh entered the store and smiled at the cashier. He walked around picking up sandwiches, beer, chips, and a pre-packaged piece of homemade chocolate cake. He paid and walked out. He saw her standing under the street light, waiting for him. All he could do was stare. "What the hell was I thinking for all these years?" he muttered to himself as he stared at the beautiful blonde who was smiling at him from across the street. He darted back toward her. As he reached her, she stretched out her arm and opened her hand to him. He immediately grabbed it and laced their fingers together.

"Follow me, Joshua."

'I'd follow you anywhere Donna Moss' he thought to himself. He gave her a full-on dimple smile and let her lead the way.

Donna rooted through the bag of food as Josh opened on of the blankets on the beach. He found a great spot – he was very proud of himself for spotting this location. He had actually spotted this a few days earlier when he and Ronna had taken a walk just to get some fresh air. When he saw it, he knew that he was going to find some way to bring her here before they headed back to Washington. There was a large rock with a smooth front that they could lean back against. The rocks jutted out just enough to create a small alcove on the beach. There was just enough light from the boardwalk and the street above them to create the atmosphere he thinks they both had been looking for.

When he finished with the blanket, he looked at her. Her eyes were wide and she was smiling as she pulled the piece of cake from the bag. He started to laugh and she looked back at him. Without saying a word, he took the bag from her and placed it on the ground. He grabbed her waist and pulled her to him. He wrapped his arms around her waist as she did the same to his neck. They stood wrapped up in each other for awhile. He placed a light kiss on the side of her neck and pulled back just enough to look her in the eye.

"Hungry?"

She felt dizzy, but not from hunger. She was dizzy from the way she was feeling, being here with him. She had spent so much time ignoring those feelings, ignoring the way she felt when it was just the two of them. She wasn't real sure what to do now – obviously their 'relationship was about to change' – as he had put it to her all those weeks ago in the White House closet, but she was still unsure of her footing. Then, he had to go kiss her neck and that sent her world reeling. She knew he was talking to her, but she hadn't heard a word he said – all she could concentrate on were those dark brown eyes.

"I'm sorry, what?"

He laughed. "I asked if you were hungry. Do you want to eat?"

"Oh, yeah, eat, yeah, yeah, I'm starving. Can we start with the cake?"

"Donna Moss! That's not the healthiest way to start a meal! All those times you yelled at me about eating a good meal and eating it in the right order - what about all your rules and such?"

"Josh, I'm pretty sure the rules went out the window awhile ago!" She gave him a sly grin and saw that the double meaning had not been lost on him.

He smirked and lowered his voice just enough so that she would be only one to hear him, not that there was anyone else around. He looked her straight in the eye. "Donna, we can do this however you want."

She felt herself get lightheaded again. She leaned up and whispered in his ear "Glad to hear it. I like to be the one in charge."

He whispered back – "Believe me, I haven't forgotten."

She pulled back and smiled at him. "Great, so chocolate cake first it is!"

They ate in silence. They devoured the piece of cake and then turned their attention to the sandwiches and beer. After an hour, the sandwiches, chips, and four of the six beers were gone. Josh gathered up the garbage and put it in the now empty bag. He leaned back against the rock, his right leg bent underneath him while his left leg was pulled up to where he could rest his left below on it. He was enjoying the silence of being with Donna and enjoying the ocean when she finally spoke.

"Josh, what's going on?"

"What to you mean?" He turned his head to look at her to discover she was staring out at the ocean. 'She must be nervous' he thought, 'otherwise she would be looking at me'. He had discovered that about her early on – whenever they talked about something that truly made her nervous, she struggled to look him in the eye.

"Josh, not that I haven't enjoyed the last couple of hours, I really have, but I might be a big confused about what is happening between us."

"I'll answer you, but you have to look at me Donna."

He watched her grin and turn her entire body so that she was now resting on her knees and looking directly into his eyes.

"It's what I like to call 'Changes in Attitude'. I was inspired watching the Congressman give his speech yesterday. I knew that he was going to give a concession speech – it's what the plan had been, but then he had a moment with Helen and his attitude changed. He gave an inspired speech, and just like that, the delegates and even the President had a change in attitude. Then Leo, he decided to accept our offer of the Vice-Presidency – just like that, another change in attitude. He went from being a behind-the-scenes guy to the guy who finally going to have his moment in the spotlight. I decided then and there that I was going to follow suit. I realized something, Donna – I realized that this is my time, my life, my moment, and that I'm going to do this how I want to do it. I'm done living up to some unbelievable moral standard that no one can measure up to. When we win the White House, it's going to be on my terms, on the Congressman terms, and no one else's. Too much has happened, I've lost too much to not do this my way this time around. So, I like to refer to this time as 'Changes in Attitude' and you are a big part of one of the changes I plan to make to my life!"

He had watched her eyes all the while making this speech. Her expression had moved from confusion to wonder to awe to, what he thought, was love by the time he was finished. He could tell her eyes were glistening.

"Are you gonna cry again?"

"Dammit Josh – there you go being, well, you again…"

"Wow, that sound vaguely familiar."

"Shut up!"

With that, he watched as she launched herself on to him. He grabbed her waist and pulled her down in the opening that his current sitting position had created. He was now cradling her as she wrapped her arms around his neck. He pulled back just enough so that he could look at her. He saw a look of undeniable happiness and couldn't help but smile back at her.

"You know what I can't believe Joshua?"

"Donnatella, I am sure that there are many, many things that you don't believe at this point…"

"Actually, there are only two things that I don't believe at this point."

"Hmm… well then maybe we should get to the bottom of those two things then."

"Right."

"OK, shoot."

"Well, first, I can't believe how unbelievably patient you seem to be tonight. I mean, just sitting there in silence while Santos spoke, talking to the Santos' and Leo, dealing with a drunk Will, all the sitting in silence we've done since we got here – you have to admit, it's not the typical you."

"Changes in attitude, Donnatella, changes in attitude. I've just gotten done explaining this to you."

"Right, right, right, I forgot."

"Ok, so what is the other thing that you don't believe?"

She shifted up just enough so that their faces were now parallel and inches apart. She tightened her arms around his neck just a bit and lowered her voice. "I can't believe that you haven't kissed me yet."

He was floored at her overtness. He was trying to be romantic and trying to bring the woo and she just throws that out there. Everything else had fallen away from the two of them as he got lost in her eyes and how she felt pressed up against him. His jaw dropped every so slightly as he sat there stunned and that's when she decided to up the ante a bit.

Before he knew what was happening, her lips found his. The kiss quickly moved from innocent and chaste to soul-searing and mind-blowing. He pulled her tighter to him as she ran her fingers through his hair. Without losing contact with her lips, he straightened out both legs and maneuvered them into a position where she was laying half on top of him. They continued to make out like teenagers as he wound his fingers through her hair and she molded herself to him.

Finally, she broke the kiss and pulled back. As soon as he looked her in the eye, she started to cry and she buried her head in chest.

"Umm… Donna?"

Sob, sob, sob

"Donna? Oh god, are you alright? I didn't mean to push… you just surprised me, not that I didn't like the surprise, and I kinda just when with the moment… Donna?

Sob, sob, sob

"Donna, please talk to me?"

Sob, sob, sob

"Ok, that's it. Sit up." He pushed her off of him and sat up. He made sure they were sitting across from each other and put both hands on the side of her face and forced her to look at him.

"Donna…"

"Oh god, Josh, what the hell is going to happen to me tomorrow?"

He knew he looked confused and felt just a little lost. "What do you mean?"

"I'm unemployed. I bet on the wrong horse and now I'm out of a job!" Sob, sob, sob She looked down at the ground.

He couldn't help but smile. "Donna, look at me."

She shook her head no.

"Donnatella, please."

Hearing her full name made her look him in the eyes.

"Donna, you can do whatever you want tomorrow and forever after that. You want to go back to school – I'll help you fill out the Georgetown application and pay your tuition and help you study and yell at your professors about them being wrong about the hundreds of things they will be wrong about. You want to go work for one of the thousands of non-profit organizations in DC, I will call everyone I know. You want to bum on the beach for a couple of weeks, I'll gladly buy the tickets to Maui and tell the Congressman he is on his own and stare at you in a bikini all day. Donna, you can do whatever you want, but starting the day after tomorrow."

Sob At least the crying had slowed down. "Why not tomorrow?"

"Cause tomorrow, we are spending together, doing nothing or everything or anything you want."

While her eyes were still wet, the crying had stopped and she was starting to smile again.

"You'd really pay for me to go back to school?"

"Well, mom is always getting on me to do something with the money dad left me. At least I know that would be a good investment, but really, you don't need school. You have more experience and are much smarter than most of the kids coming out of Georgetown these days."

Good, now she was laughing.

"Are we really going to spend all day together tomorrow?"

"Damn straight!"

"What about your meeting with the Santos' and Leo?"

"Come with me."

"Really?"

"Yeah, sure, why not. The Congressman will be grateful for the all input he can get at this point."

"You think if I impress the Congressman tomorrow, he might offer me a job?"

Josh couldn't help but laugh at this point. He was going to wait until tomorrow to broach the subject of her joining the Santos campaign, but now that she brought it up…

"Trust me Donna, you've already impressed him."

"How?"

"Everything you did during the stem cell vote – all he could talk about for days was 'Russell's chicken fighter'."

"Really?"

"Yeah, but Donna, you know that Santos has entrusted his campaign manager with all hires, right?"

"Really – think you could get me an introduction tomorrow? I want to make a good impression!"

He smiled. "Believe me, Donna, he's already impressed. He's had a long time to watch you work, learn, interact with Senators and Representatives, with Senior Staff and interns. He knows your brilliant mind and knows what an asset you would be to any campaign."

"I don't know. I'm afraid he might be disappointed in me. I'm just waiting for him to say 'I told you so' about Russell and that he is going to make me eat that decision at some point."

That kind of hurt – that she thought he would ever be disappointed in her. "Donna, do you really think that I'm disappointed in, that you could ever let me down."

Her eyes started to glisten again. They hadn't broken eye contact this whole time – she wasn't sure if she would ever be able to look away from those brown eyes again. "Josh, I know that you think Russell is a joke – you made that very clear to me on more than one occasion, even before we both left the White House. I know you, Josh, I know you want to chide me for choosing Russell over Santos."

"Never, Donnatella, never. I have never been more proud of you than I have been over the last few months – and that includes the Social Security catch and Stackhouse's problem way back when. You are brilliant and determined and, if I can say so, gorgeous. You've always had my admiration. Please don't ever think otherwise ever again."

She got up on her knees and he did the same and they wrapped their arms around each other in a loving hug.

"Josh" she whispered in his ear.

"Yeah" he replied as he kissed her neck.

"When can we get back to the kissing?"

"Umm… now."

"Well, now would be great, but I'm thinking that maybe we should move this someplace more private, someplace a little less, oh I don't know, outside."

He crushed his lips to her mouth for another of what was going to be a long line of kisses they would share that night. "I love that idea. Love it, love it, love it!"

"Go throw the bag away and I will fold up the blankets."

Josh was off like a light, running toward the trashcan on the boardwalk as Donna folded the blankets. He ran back to meet her and he placed his arm around his shoulder as she put his around his waist and they strode off toward the hotel.

The elevator doors shut as Josh kissed Donna and hit the '8' button at the same time.

"No, I don't think so" she said as she reached back and hit the '5' button.

"Donna, what are you doing?"

"We are going to my room."

"No."

"Why not?"

"I have a nicer room."

"Liar. I'll bet $100 that we have the same exact type of room. Besides, I have a better room."

"Oh really, why is that?"

"Cause I've already ordered coffee and toast for two for 9 tomorrow morning."

He looked at her like she was the most brilliant woman in the world. "Awful sure of yourself, Donna?"

"Let's just say I'm optimistic."

He threw his head back and laughed. The elevator dinged at the 5th floor. He let go of Donna and pushed her out the door.

"What – you aren't coming?"

"I'll be down in a minute. I want to go get some clothes and what-not."

"Hurry!"

As the doors started to close, he put his hand between the doors and yelled "Donna!"

"I'm still right here."

"Come here."

She walked back over to him as he stood between the doors. He pulled her back to him, kissed her with everything that he had in him and whispered "I have to tell you before you head down to your room, I love you."

She gasped and pulled back, but the look in his eyes laid all her fears to rest. She knew he meant it and was going to mean it forever. "Joshua, I know. And guess what?"

"Hmm… you love me too?"

"I love you too."

"I'll be there in 10 minutes!"

With that, he stepped back and let the doors close as she ran down to her room.

9 minutes later, Josh was knocking on her door, a little out of breath from running down the halls between his room and her room. What little breath he had left was gone when Donna opened the door wearing nothing but a hotel bathrobe.

The rest of the night was spent discovering what they both knew all long – that they were going to fabulous in bed together. He was pretty sure that they both had screamed each other's names during the night and he hoped that no one was next door to them that were associated with any campaign! He thought 'only we could manage banter and sex at the same time' as she whispered something about redlights and greenlights and red dresses and tuxedos in his ear as he rolled on top of her for their third go-round of the night. After hours of sex and kissing and exploration, they finally fell asleep wrapped up in each other, as they had started the night back in the Russell conference room.

He awoke to knocking at the door at 9am sharp. He forgot where he was for just a moment until he inhaled the scent of lavender. 'Thank god that wasn't a dream!' he thought as he managed to get out from underneath her and pull on his boxers before he answered the door to retrieve the coffee and toast that Donna had promised him last night. As he wheeled the cart across the room, he saw her stir under the covers.

"Josh…."

He turned and just the sight of her disheveled and doe eyed from just waking up was more than he could handle. He pinned her to the bed with his eyes and quickly made his way back over to her.

"What about the food?"

"Toast is toast, warm or cold, and the coffee is in a thermal pot – it will hold for a couple of hours." She didn't even have a chance to reply before he was under the covers with his hands all over her and kissing her senseless yet again.

Finally, at 11:15, he awoke again. He opened his eyes to the back of a blonde head of hair. He smiled and leaned up kissed her temple and got out of bed. He grabbed the robe that had lived on the floor for most of the night and put it on. 'Yup, still warm' he thought as he poured the coffee. He heard her stir as he poured the second cup.

"You aren't planning on bring me coffee, are you?"

"I absolutely was."

He turned with both cups of coffee and made his way toward the bed as she sat up and pulled the white sheet over her and tucked it under her arms. He sat down next to her and handed her the cup.

"What time is it?"

"Almost 11:30."

"What time do you have to meet Leo and the Santos'?"

"WE are going to meet them at 1."

"You really want me to come with you?"

"Absolutely! You're going to make a fabulous addition to the staff. And this time, Donna, I promise you, no holding you back, no bellowing – well, ok, I can't really promise that, but you will have your pick of jobs and responsibilities – that I can promise you!"

"Ok, but don't expect me to respond to the bellowing any quicker than before."

"I would not have expected anything less."

They each took their turn in the shower and by about 12:45, they were out the door heading toward the elevators.

"Josh, I need to know something before we get down there."

"Anything."

"I need to know that things aren't going to go back to how they were. I'm not that person anymore and I can't be satisfied with that anymore."

"Donna, we are going to do this together, win or lose, we'll work together. Besides, if I had known that you knew all those tricks, I would have given you a different job a long time ago."

She shoved him as he smirked. "Idiot."

"Seriously, where did you learn some of that stuff?"

"You really want to know?"

"No, no, no. Pretend I didn't ask."

She laughed as they reached the elevators. They walked into the car and Josh the '2' button. He leaned back against the wall and she leaned into him. They rode down in silence – his arm around her shoulder and her head resting against him.

The doors opened on the 2nd floor and they walked out. They passed several volunteers from the different campaigns. They were so wrapped up in each other and what lay ahead of them that they didn't notice a familiar face in the group, but she sure saw them.

"Hey, wasn't that Josh Lyman?" one aide asked.

"Yeah, with Donna Moss." another responded.

"What are they doing together?"

Elsie made her way to the front of the group to grab the elevator before they lost it. "They are the duo that are going to win the White House for the Santos/McGarry ticket!"

"I don't know Elsie – Vinick is going to be hard to beat!"

"Trust me – with those two together again, nothing is impossible. I wouldn't bet against them!"

**The End**


	2. Back to Basics

**Back to Basics**

**Author: **Kathleen

**Email: **The Santos Campaign  
**Pairing(s): **Josh/Donna  
**Category(s): **Romance, Post Season 6  
**Rating: TEEN**  
**Disclaimer: **The characters aren't mine, but thank God to Aaron Sorkin for creating them. My life would not have been the same without them.   
**Summary: **Josh and Donna are now on the same team – now what? Series: **A New Day has Come **#2  
**Spoiler: **_2162 Votes, _but only if you haven't read **Changes in Attitude**

**Author's Notes:** OK, this is my first story that isn't based at the end of an episode. I am also including some anti-Will writing, as I've been told I may have been a little to nice to him in the last story. I don't think Will is as bad as others do, but hey, I've got to get rid of him somehow! That and I get to have some fun with the ever evil Amy, who I do think is worse than others make her out to be! )

They walked down the hall together, his arm around her shoulders. They were almost to the Santos' suite when he spoke.

"Did you notice Elsie back there?"

She looked over her shoulder at where the group of campaign volunteers had been.

"No, I didn't. Did she see us?"

"Well, we were kind of hard to miss there, Donna, since we were the only people getting off the elevator!"

"Yeah, stupid question."

"Think she's gonna call Will."

"Probably as soon as she has a chance." She sighed. "Guess I'll have to deal with him at some point today."

"You want me to take care of it?"

"And, what, watch the two of you get into a pissing match? No thanks, we'll cross that bridge when we get to it."

He stopped them from walking. "I'm glad you said that."

"Said what?"

"We. I'm glad that you said that 'we will cross that bridge when we get to it'. I meant what I said – this is us, you and me, working together again. It's back to basics for us – but this time, we're a team, equals. No matter what stupid stuff I may say or do from here on out, remember that I meant that and I mean it and it's the truth!"

She smiled at him and nodded her head. He pulled her into him a little tighter and released her, much too quickly for her liking.

He pointed at the door. "You ready for this Donnatella?"

"Let's get to work. We've got to get a President elected!"

He laughed and smiled at her as he knocked on the door. They were greeted by the smiling face of Helen Santos. She let out a whoop and threw her arms around Josh's neck. He jerked his arm off of Donna's shoulders and she kind of tripped backwards. Helen hadn't even noticed her yet.

"Josh Lyman, it's about damn time! Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you! I know I gave you a lot of grief over the last few months, but you knew what you were doing, and well, just LOOK what you did! Holy crap!"

He laughed a little. "Well, you're welcome Mrs. Santos. But, we've still got some work to do!"

She pulled away from him and noticed Donna for the first time.

"Josh, who's the pretty blonde standing… oh hell." Helen started to laugh.

Josh looked at Donna, who seemed to be dumbstruck, and then back at the hysterical Helen Santos. "Ma'am?"

"Sorry!" Helen Santos stretched out her hand to Donna. "You must be Donna Moss."

Donna stepped forward to shake her hand. "Yes Ma'ma, I'm Donna Moss, but how…"

Helen shook her hand and then leaned back to yell into the room. "Damn it Matt, I do believe we owe Leo $50!" Josh and Donna looked thoroughly confused at that statement. Helen just shook her head at them. "Well, come on in, you two. We've got enough food to feed an army!"

Josh and Donna walked into the room as Matt Santos came out of the bedroom. Leo was sitting at the dining table reading the paper and drinking coffee. He didn't even look up as they came in the room.

Matt walked up to Josh and shook his hand vigorously. "Josh Lyman, man, well, I don't know what to say. Thanks I guess to start with! But not too much thanks – we did just lose $50 thanks to you!" Helen snickered at that statement and Leo, still no reaction from him.

"OK, sir, well, to start with, you are welcome. It was my pleasure. Now what is this about $50?"

Without missing a beat, Leo turned the page of the paper and said "I told you two not to bet against me. I tried to warn you and give you plenty of chances to back out!"

Once again, Josh and Donna looked at each other, perplexed. Josh responded first. "Ok, seriously, someone needs to start explaining!"

Leo just read his paper while rehashing the events. "Well, apparently, after we got off the phone with you, Helen and Matt both had questions about who Donna was and why I was inquiring about her. I gave them a very brief overview of history of Josh and Donna and told them they would get to meet her today cause she would be showing up with you. They didn't believe me – in fact, I do believe Matt's actual response was 'Why would Lyman be bringing the chicken fighter to our meeting?' So, I bet them $50 that Donna would be with you today cause well, 1, she's better at your job than you are and you would want her on the campaign and 2, that you two had finally pulled your heads out of your respective asses. Turns out I was right." Finally, Leo looked up from the paper and over his glasses at Josh and Donna.

The scene made him laugh. Josh looked like a fish out of water with his mouth hanging open and Donna had covered her reddening face with her hands as she leaned up against the wall.

Finally, Josh stuttered, "So you, what, bet on me and Donna? LEO!"

"What? I tried to talk them out of it. Hell, I KNEW it was going to be a quick $50 but they wouldn't have any of it. Apparently, you are known as some sort of sour puss with the Santos staff."

"SOUR PUSS!" Josh looked over at the Santos'. Helen giggled while Matt just shrugged his shoulders. "And just so you know, she's not better at my job than I am."

"Like hell I'm not" Donna responded from the wall she was trying to sink into.

"Shush!"

"Don't shush me Joshua!"

Leo finally got up from the table and made his way toward Josh. "Ok you two – do we have to do this already. Seriously, you will scare the Santos' off if you two keep it up!"

Donna finally pushed herself off the wall. "I just can't believe you had money on us, Leo."

"Well, don't get me wrong, that was a nice bet, but the real money is coming from the White House. I was the only one who bet that you two could keep your hands off each other until you no longer worked for the President!"

"WHAT!" Now it was Donna's turn to screech! "What in God's name to do you mean 'from the White House'?"

Leo snickered. "Oh come on Donna – Margaret has a big mouth. Don't try to convince me that you didn't know?" By the horrified look on her face, Leo immediately started to regret those words. "Wait, you mean you didn't…" Leo started to laugh!

"LEO! Oh my god, I can't believe… that you all thought that I would… with my boss… that I would do anything to disrespect the President… after all the shit that happened… where the hell is a hole in the floor when you need it" Donna pleaded as she stared at the floor. "I'm mortified."

Leo walked over and placed a hand on Donna's shoulder. "Donna, really, don't worry about it. No one thinks anything bad about you at all – and it's not like it was a building wide bet or anything. Just a few select members of senior staff and the first family…"

"Oh my god, seriously, I need a hole right now!"

"I mean, we all knew you two wouldn't do anything stupid, ok well, at least that you wouldn't do anything stupid…"

"Hey! I'm in the room Leo!"

Leo waved him off and kept talking to Donna. "We just knew that you two were different, had a different relationship, and that you two were not a question of 'if' but 'when'. Besides, you are a considerable step up for him. Don't worry yourself about anything!"

"Seriously, I'M STILL IN THE ROOM!"

Donna looked up and smiled at Leo. "So, how much was your take?"

Josh looked horrified. "DONNATELLA MOSS! I CANNOT believe you are encouraging him!"

Leo snickered. "About $600."

Josh couldn't believe what he was hearing. "WHAT! You won HOW much money betting on my love life?"

Donna looked away from Leo and to Josh. "Josh, you need to calm down."

"But Donna, they were…"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, but who cares? Seriously Joshua, does that really, I mean really, matter to you right now?"

He couldn't help but be swept away by her blue eyes and relatively calm demeanor. He got lost in her eyes and just stared as she made her way over to him and placed one hand on each side of his face.

"Really, Josh, does any of that matter right now?"

He just smiled at her. "Not at all. Sorry I got a little loud there."

"Yeah, well, it's you, so I'm used to the bellowing."

They stood there, completely lost in each other, forgetting that there were three other people in the room until Matt Santos cleared his throat.

"Well, now that we had a little fun with Lyman and his chicken fighter, maybe we can eat and get down to what we need to do today!"

Josh just looked up at Matt, Helen, and Leo and smiled. He wrapped an arm around Donna. "Absolutely! We've got work to do!"

The five of them gathered around the food and piled their plates high and made their way over to the table. Donna put her plate down and made her way back over to the coffee tray. Josh noticed and without thinking, started in.

"Hey Donna, while you're at it…"

She whipped around and looked at him. "What?"

"Can I get a cup while you're at it?"

She snorted. "You CAN'T be serious?"

"Donna, seriously…"

"Joshua Lyman!" She screeched as she crossed her arms in protest.

"Oh lord, here we go." Leo muttered under his breath. The Santos' looked at him with a look of confusion. "What's so wrong with coffee?" Helen whispered back.

"I'm not sure – it's their thing!"

"Donna, really, can I please just get a cup of coffee? You are already over there and you have two hands…"

"Joshua Lyman, in all the years, and I mean all the years, we have known each other, how many times have I brought you coffee?"

"Once, when you thought I was being fired after the whole Mary Marsh thing."

Leo snickered. He had forgotten all about that. He started laughing harder as he muttered "indicted for tax evasion" to himself. At this point, the Santos' were completely lost. Matt just looked at Helen and shrugged his shoulders.

"Yeah, really, Josh, and is one of us being fired?"

"Donnatella, you are fired" he responded smirking. He knew exactly what her response would be.

"First of all, I don't work for you anymore. Secondly" she responded as she pointed to herself "impervious!"

"Ok you two, seriously, I think you have really started to scare Matt and Helen" Leo chimed in as he wiped his eyes. "Josh, just go get your own damn coffee and let's eat in peace. Who knows when we will get to do this again!"

Josh started to whine. "But Leo, she's already over there. It would just be easier…"

"Josh, just go."

He, grudgingly, got up out of his chair and made his way over to the coffee cart and a victorious Donna Moss. He couldn't help but smile at her. "Pretty proud of yourself, Donnatella, getting Leo on your side and everything."

"Joshua, its common knowledge that they all like me better."

"It's true." Leo chimed from the table.

"Good to feel loved!" Josh muttered.

Instead of giving him some snarky response, all Donna did was give him a light kiss and made his coffee exactly how he like it. Josh all but skipped back to the table.

The five of them ate and listened as Leo shared story after story. Donna and Josh were both surprised at how much Leo actually knew, since it seemed that he was never around for any of it.

Helen had to find out. "Seriously, so you two… I mean, nothing until last night."

"That's right." Josh responded as he laid his arm across Donna's shoulders.

"Really?" Matt asked.

"Why?"

"Well, it's just… see, there were always rumors about Lyman and his assistant… how they were always together, how she had more responsibility than most other White House assistants, how she basically lived with him after the shooting, how he jetted out of DC after the explosion in Gaza. Everyone on the Hill just assumed…"

Leo responded and Josh and Donna looked like deers in headlight. "Yeah, we heard them all."

Josh was floored. "Wait, Leo, what do you mean 'you heard them all'? What rumors?"

"Josh, really, it wasn't a big deal. Besides, when Donna said that everyone liked her better, that didn't just mean Senior Staff."

"WHAT!" Leo hadn't heard Donna yell that much in all her years in the West Wing.

"Donna, really, its fine. There are all kind of rumors around DC. It's what people talk about when there isn't anything else to talk about."

"Leo… oh my god… you mean… Senators and aides thought…".

"Donna, really, no one cared. It's not like there was any real proof, not that CJ and I weren't prepared, but seriously, it was nothing."

Josh whipped his head around to look at Leo. "What do you 'prepared'? Are you saying there was some kind of contingency plan in case… in case of what?"

"In case you decided to pull your head out of your ass!"

"LEO!"

"What? You think I was going to leave this up to chance? CJ and I came up with a couple of different options after Donna decided to live with you that summer, just in case. We thought we were going to have to use one after the whole Inauguration thing…"

Helen chimed in. "Wait! I have to know… is that snowball story… I mean, did you really do that? Did that really happen?"

Donna just blushed and shook her head in the affirmative. Josh looked over at Donna and just smiled; remembering that night and how she looked in the window of her apartment.

Helen couldn't believe what she was hearing. "I thought that was just another White House myth. Oh my god Josh! How sweet! I didn't know you had that kind of thing in you. I mean, all I've ever seen is the stressed out, nervous, arrogant political mastermind and then I go and hear stories like this…"

And before Josh had a chance to get good and embarrassed, there was a knock at the door. 'Thank God!' he thought to himself. "I'll get it!" He was out of his chair before anyone had a chance to continue the story or stop him.

Josh opened the door to a very steamed Will Bailey.

"Where the hell is she?" he said as he stormed into the suite.

"Well, Bailey, it's nice to see you too. How was your evening?"

"Shut up Lyman." Will looked over to see Donna at the table. "C'mon Donna, let's go."

She was floored. She stood up and walked over to him. "Excuse me?"

"I said let's go. You are making us late."

"And who exactly is the 'us' you are referring to?"

"Russell's staff. I don't have time for this. I'm hung over and very irritated you weren't ready to go with the rest of the staff – Elsie just happened to call and tell me that she saw you heading down here with Lyman, which is another topic for another time. You work for me and I'm telling you to move your ass!"

Donna was ready to pounce. Leo, Helen and Matt could see that from across the room. Josh just leaned back against the arm of the chair, crossed his arms and smirk at Will. He got a very pissed off look from Will, but he just continued to smirk. Will had no idea what he was in for.

"EXCUSE ME WILL BAILEY! WHAT THE HELL DID YOU JUST SAY TO ME?"

"What are you, hearing impaired, Donna? I told you to get a move on. We need to get back to DC and you are making us late."

"You asshole! And, in case you forgot, my contract was with 'Russell for President' which ended when YOU managed to get your ass kicked by him!" she screeched as she pointed at Josh.

"So, what, you gonna stay here, work for a guy who has no chance in hell of winning.."

"Hey, I'm IN the room, you little twit!" Matt yelled from the table.

"…and get sucked back into that sorry ass existence you had with Lyman back in the White House? I really shouldn't have expected anything else from a stupid college dropout! And to think, I wasted all that time and power on someone who was SOOO not qualified to do the work!"

Everyone was staring at Will at this point, completely in awe of the balls he had on him to come into this room and start talking to people like that. Josh, Leo, Helen, and Matt were so wrapped up in his unjustified tirade that they never saw it coming. Apparently, neither did Will until he was flat on his ass after being punched square in the face by one Donnatella Moss.

"You arrogant, idiotic, son of a bitch!" she yelled while shaking her right hand. "Don't blame me cause you got bent over by the next President of the United States! I've been at this for a very long time – longer than you! I know more and have done more than you will ever do in your lifetime. I've sat in budget negotiations, I saved Social Security from pissing off thousands of elderly Americans, I've briefed the President and the Chief of Staff on tons of issues while you, what, managed to get a dead man elected in California only to leave Sam, who just happens to be one of my best friends, to get his ass kicked in the run-off! If anything, I wasted MY time working on your messed up Russell campaign when I could have been working for the real deal! That fact that you thought that you could have EVER gotten that man the nomination, much less elected, shows that everyone was right about you all those years ago – you ARE delusional!"

Will looked up at her from the floor through his fingers. "I think you broke my nose!"

"I'm gonna break more than that if you don't get your four-eyed prick of an ass out of here right now!"

Will got up off the floor and made his way to the door, running into walls as he walked since he had to keep his nose elevated. He threw open the door and was in the hall without another word, but apparently, Donna wasn't done with him yet. She stood in the doorway and yelled down the hall.

"And another thing you jackass, when we win, and believe you me, we are TOTALLY going to kick some Republican ass all across this country – don't even THINK about coming and begging for a job. You aren't worthy to work in the White House, NEVER WERE! You aren't even good enough to be the President's personal ass wiper. Take your ass back to whatever hole you crawled out of and stay the hell away from us!" With that, she came back in the room and slammed the door. She had fire in her eyes as she turned and looked at Josh, who had a proud smirk on his face. The room was quiet until Matt broke the ice.

"I didn't even realize the President HAD a personal ass wiper!" Helen and Leo started to giggle. "That's reason enough to run!" That sent Helen and Leo into hysterics.

Josh and Donna didn't even hear them. They were still staring at each other. She finally sighed and spoke. "What?"

"That was the sexiest thing I have ever seen."

"Yeah, I think I broke my hand."

"Yeah, well, I'm positive you broke his nose!"

She started to giggle and he walked over to her to examine her hand. "Nasty right hook, Donnatella. I didn't know you had it in you! How did I manage to come away without one broken nose?"

"You walk too fast." She responded as he made his way over to her.

She hissed as he ran his fingers over the top of her hand. "He had it coming."

"You bet your ass he did!"

"Is it broken?"

"Nah, but it's gonna hurt like hell for a couple of days."

The two of them just stood there, looking at each other. Donna was still breathing hard from all the yelling and still looked like she was ready to kill someone or something. Josh pulled her into him and hugged her while running his hands up and down his back.

"I just can't believe he had the nerve. I'm going to kill him – no wait, I bet there is at least one Secret Service agent that I can bribe to take him out…"

"Donnatella, don't worry about him. He's gone and I do believe you properly scared the piss out of him. He definitely won't be back!"

She giggled into his chest and wrapped her arms around his waist. And, there they were, Josh and Donna, just… being.

Matt, Leo, and Helen watched this whole scene from the table. Helen sighed "It's just so sweet. Like…"

Leo finished her thought. "Like it was meant to be. It's just a shame they had to waste all these years, all that time, but it would have been too hard from them, too much for all of us if they had tried this while working together. But I knew, we all knew."

Helen looked over at him. "When did you know?"

"For her – after Rosslyn. She had all these rules set up for him and the Senior staff. She took notes during his doctor appointments, basically worked from his apartment for three months. There were other things, other effects that only she was able to recognize and calm down in him. I knew then for her. For him, it took a bit longer. He's very good at denial, especially when it came to her. I had an inkling right before the MS disclosure, the night they all worked on the Correspondents' Dinner speech – something happened between them that night. The inkling turned into suspicion one night when I sent her off to meet her boyfriend for Christmas and he could barely think straight, which was all but confirmed when he ran off to Germany. He just wasted to some much time on really annoying women when he couldn't have what was right in front of him. I guess I could feel guilty for my part, for keeping them apart, but it would have been too much and that wouldn't have been far too either one of them."

Helen smiled at Leo and tapped his hand lightly. She then cleared her throat and stood up from the table. "Donna, you want some ice for your hand?"

She looked at the other three people in the room and started to blush. "Oh wow, I'm really sorry about all that…"

Matt looked over at her. "No worries, Donna, no worries at all. Josh was right – he had it coming. Besides, I'm glad you are on my side. Who needs Secret Service when you've got Donna Moss in your camp!"

Everyone started to laugh and Josh led her back over to her seat while Helen wrapped some ice in a hand towel. Leo started to clear plates away as he spoke. "Well, now that the little twit is gone after having his ass properly kicked by Donna, we need to get to work. We've got a White House to win!"

The next few weeks were a whirlwind for the Santos campaign. They flew back to Washington that same night. They all got back to DC late and headed their separate directions – the Santos' to their rented house in Alexandria, Leo to the Watergate Hotel, and Josh and Donna to the brownstone in Georgetown.

There hadn't been any discussion about it – it just happened. Donna went to spend the night there and just never left. After four days, they both decided they would just go get the rest of her boxes and trinkets from her old apartment. Her room had been sublet while she traveled and her old roommate was kind of weird, but so was the girl who had sublet her room – they were getting along famously and Donna decided she wouldn't be missed in the least. Needless to say, Josh was super excited – he had wanted this particular roommate for as long as he could remember.

They spent their days at campaign headquarters, working on a message calendar, hiring people to work in Santos offices across the country, fundraising, hiring campaign staff. They worked side by side, as equals, well at least as equals to everyone else – she had always been is equal, from the day she came to Manchester all those years ago.

They always made sure to take an hour for lunch. Sometimes they would eat in one of their offices, being stupid. Somedays they would get a hot dog from the vendor down the street and walk the Mall. One day Helen Santos joined them in the office and one day CJ insisted on buying them lunch in the mess, just to catch up. It became an event and by the time it was said and done, the President, First Lady, and Zoey, had joined Josh, Donna, CJ, Kate, Toby, Charlie, Carol, Margaret, Ginger and Annabeth for lunch in the mess.

They spent a lot of time just walking, spending time together, something they hadn't done in a very long time. Washington summers could get hot, but they didn't mind. Walking was a good way for them to unwind after a day in the office battling with the DNC or the Congressman or contributors. They spent this time talking about anything but politics. They rehashed old stories from years ago. They made fun of the tourists and once, Josh even managed to chase down a stray balloon for a crying 4 year old they came upon one night.

She really only had herself to blame, the night she came home with the ring. They had been walking along the main drag in Georgetown, where all the kitschy shops and independent restaurants were. They had been walking in silence while she window shopped when she stopped cold in front of a jewelry store. In the middle of the window display was a gorgeous ring – a princess cut diamond surrounded by sapphires on a platinum band. Normally Donna didn't get impressed by jewelry – she was a girl on a budget after all, but something about this ring was drawing her to it.

"That is gorgeous. Josh, look at that ring."

He smirked as the wheels in his head started turning. "Yeah, it's alright."

"ALRIGHT! Are you serious? It is stunning. Look at that!" He laughed under his breath at how she was drooling over the ring.

"You really like it huh?"

"You bet! I mean, look at it. It's the perfect accessory! The blue stones totally match my eyes and would stand out against my delicate alabaster skin. It's like the ring is begging for me to wear it."

Without saying a word, he dragged her into the store where they were greeted by the manager.

"OK, I'll make you a deal Donnatella."

"What's that Joshua?"

"You really like that ring?"

"Duh!"

"Would you like to have it?"

"Again with the duh!"

He smiled at her. "Fine, I'll get it for you, but you have to agree to just one thing."

She was just staring as the manager pulled the ring out of the display. She was really only half listening to him and he realized it. 'This was going to be fun' he thought to himself. "Yeah, sure, anything, whatever!"

"Yeah, you can have it, but you have to marry me."

She watched the manager put the ring in the cleaner so that she could wear it home. His head shot up and stared at Josh because of what he just said. Donna hadn't really noticed which caused the manager to laugh while he cleaned the ring.

"Yeah, Josh, that's fine… wait! What did you just say?"

He was leaned back against one of the display cases, arms crossed across his chest, smirk out in full force.

"How you doing? Realize I was still here?"

"Did you just ask me to marry you?"

"You want the ring?"

"Once again, with the duh!"

"Then, yeah, that's the deal. I'll get you the ring, you agree to marry me after the election."

A huge, toothy grin broke out on her face as she watched the store manager put the ring on a small satin cloth next to where Josh was leaning against the case. She came and stood right in front of Josh.

"Well, it is the perfect accessory."

"So, is that a yes?"

Donna just shook her head in the affirmative. Without ever breaking her gaze, Josh reached down, took the ring off the top of the display case and slipped it on her left hand. While she admired how the ring looked on her finger, Josh threw his wallet on the counter. "Use the Visa." The manager just shook his head and laughed while charging the ring to Josh's card.

The manager returned the card and wallet to Josh and just like that, they left the store, hand in hand. And just like that, Josh and Donna were engaged – very unconventional, but so very much Josh-and-Donna-like.

They made a beeline for the townhouse and locked themselves inside. As Josh closed the door, Donna slammed him against it and assaulted his mouth with her own. Without breaking their kiss, Josh managed to maneuver them back to the bedroom where the only thing Donna wore for the rest of the night was her engagement ring.

They were five weeks into the campaign. Josh and Donna and the rest of the staff had been working like crazy to keep the ball in their court. Matt and Leo had been sent on whirlwind trips, criss-crossing the country, making speeches and attending fundraisers. Apparently, Bruno was worried about how aggressive this campaign was cause he sent Vinnick everywhere Matt Santos had been, just a few days behind. At this early stage, it was a dead heat between the two, but Matt had picked up several points in the last few weeks, which sent Bruno and the Vinnick campaign into damage control.

Ronna and Ned were working out front with Caroline, the new Press Secretary, putting together press packets for the fundraiser they were having that evening while Donna was in the back, dealing with Secret Service. Josh had spent the last two days in Illinois, setting up the field offices and meeting with prominent Democrats all over Chicago. Between the Bartlett's and the Santos', there were going to be a lot of agents at the event. Donna looked at her watch while she waited to be transferred to yet another office. 'I should have just asked to talk to Ron' she thought to herself. Josh's plane landed 45 minutes ago and he was due to come straight to the office when he got out of National, so he was due to arrive any time. She smiled as she thought about that. She couldn't wait to see him!

Ronna, Ned, and Caroline had their backs to the door and didn't see her come in. When she cleared her throat, Ned turned to see the brunette standing in the doorway. 'Wow' he thought to himself, 'it's a little early for the call girls to be out, but whatever.' She just glared at him until he spoke.

"Can I help you Ma'am?"

"Where's J?"

Ronna and Caroline looked up at this point and gave her the once over.

"I'm sorry, who?"

"J. Josh Lyman – your boss. Where is he?"

Ned looked at Ronna, then at Caroline, who both shrugged their shoulders at him. He turned his attention back to her.

"Well, Ma'am, he's been out of town. He is supposed to be back in time for the fundraiser tonight and he will be back in the office tomorrow, if you want to leave him a note…"

Donna threw open the door and made her way out front. She was reading a file and hadn't noticed the visitor they had.

"Caroline, I finally got Annabeth to email me about what Mrs. Bartlett will be wearing to the event tonight. Also, Zoey and Ellie have both decided to attend as well, so all their info is in here as well…" Donna finally looked up and noticed her. She did her best not to explode at this point. "Amy."

"Oh great, Donna, yeah, could I get a bottle of water? It is super hot out there and I'm just parched. I'm assuming that is J's office you came out of, so I'll just go wait in there for him to come back. Thanks."

Amy started to make her way toward where Donna had come from, but Donna blocked her way. "Excuse me Donna."

"No."

"What?"

"You, don't move." Donna headed toward where the other three were. "You guys got all those copies made?" They all nodded in the affirmative. "Caroline, you are going to need this for the gaggle."

"Donna, the press was wondering about remarks the President is going to make tonight?"

"Yeah, Toby said he would fax those over in a minute. I'll go check for you."

Donna turned and saw a flabbergasted Amy still standing in the spot she left her in. "Oh yeah, you are still here."

"Really, Donna, if a bottle of water is too much to ask for…"

Donna turned and huffed. She put her right hand on her hip and stood toe to toe with Amy Gardner. She took Amy's crap for years – Amy was now on her turf – no well in hell she was backing down! "Amy, there are plenty of bottles of water in the fridge over in the corner. They are really only supposed to be for campaign staff, but what the hell, help your self. Lord knows we don't want you collapsing from dehydration!"

Donna blew past Amy and made her way to the back of the office where the fax machines were. Amy proceeded to follow her.

"Really, Donna, you don't have to be rude."

Donna just snorted. "Believe Amy, that wasn't rude. Feel free to help yourself to something that isn't yours – never stopped you before."

Donna continued to walk and read the faxes at the same time, completely ignoring the indignant look on Amy's face.

"You know, Donna, I'm just gonna go wait for J in his office. I'm assuming that is where you came from, working in his office like a good little secretary does when the boss is away."

"That's it!"

Donna whirled around with fire in her eyes. She had managed to break Will's nose, and she didn't mind him very much. Imagine what pain she could inflict on Amy Gardner.

"Amy, listen up, cause I am going to explain this slowly, and only once. I was never Josh's secretary. I was his assistant. I assisted him on research for bills, on prepping for meetings, on budget negotiations, on Supreme Court Justices and on Vice-Presidential nominees. I sat in on base closing meetings for him, I briefed CJ for him on numerous different items that she would be asked about in her press briefings. I was never his secretary then, and I'm not his secretary now! Also, Amy, that" she said pointing the room she had exited from "is our conference room. That" she said as she pointed to the large room at the top of the stairs "is Josh's office. Actually, it is MY and Josh's office. We are working together and that is where we work from. Understand?"

Amy just snorted. "Ok then, Donna, what is your title these days if not 'secretary'?"

"Assistant Campaign Manager and Senior Advisor of Political Affairs to Matthew Santos."

Amy looked like a bus had just hit her. She was stunned; eyes wide and mouth hanging open. Donna heard Caroline start to giggle at Amy's reaction.

"What, no snotty response Amy?"

"Well, Donna, that's nice and all, but I'm sure J just feels sorry for you, you know, with no education or anything – probably just feels like he needs to keep you around, like he's responsible for you or something. Once he gets qualified people on the campaign, I'm sure your 'duties' will be reduced. Actually, that's why I'm here. I'm sure he's going to want me to join up and help out. I'm just surprised I haven't gotten the job offer yet. I came by to make sure that he didn't lose my number."

Donna was about to respond when a voice came from behind them.

"Actually, Amy, I deleted your number out of my cell a long time ago."

Donna whirled around to see Josh standing at the entrance. He dropped his bag and backpack on the empty chair and threw his sunglasses on the desk where Ned, Ronna, and Caroline were perched, watching this scene with vested interest.

Amy sauntered past Donna and made her way to Josh.

"Now J, that was a silly thing to do."

"No, actually, it was probably the second smartest thing I've ever done" he responded as he smiled at Donna over Amy's head. Donna walked toward them and stood to the side with Ned, Caroline, and Ronna.

"J, seriously, c'mon. You should have called the day after the convention. You need me here. I'm still very influential. I'm a player. I can't believe I had to come in here and get my job!"

Josh laughed. "A player? Since when? Did your last candidate get his ass whooped because of your strategy?"

She just brushed that off and started toying with his tie. Donna started seeing red, but Josh just gave her a reassuring look and went back to dealing with Amy.

"Amy, look, even if I wanted you working here, I don't do the hiring."

"Oh, should I go talk to Santos? That's not a problem; we've got a history…"

"Actually, Matt trusts this person completely when it comes to hires. You need to talk to the Assistant Campaign Manger." Josh grabbed her by the shoulders and spun her around till she was facing Donna, who was leaned back against the desk, arms crossed at her chest, with a huge 'Josh Lyman' smirk on her face.

"How you doing?"

Amy just laughed. "You can't be serious? Your SECRETARY hires your staff?"

Donna stood straight up and grabbed the small card that Caroline was holding out for her.

"For the last time, you idiot, I am not his secretary or his assistant!" Donna handed Amy the small card. The color left Amy's face as she read what was on the card

**DONNA MOSS**

**Santos for President**

_**Assistant Campaign Manager**_

_**Senior Advisor – Political slowly moved her eyes from the card back up to the smirking face of Donna Moss.**_

Donna slowly made her way over to Amy. "Feel free to keep that card, Amy. I've got hundreds. Well, not as many as a few weeks ago – I'm a very popular player these days. Oh, by the way, as for your supposed 'job offer' – yeah, I don't think you would mesh well with the staff I've already amassed. I'm not interested."

Before Amy knew what was happening, Josh had spun her back around so they were face to face.

"And just for your future reference, neither am I!"

With that, Josh released his hold on Amy and moved toward Donna. He slung an arm over her shoulders and returned his gaze to Amy.

Amy finally recovered. She straightened her blouse. "Your loss, J. Don't coming running to me when this fiasco implodes."

Amy turned on her heel, threw Donna's card back on the desk next to Josh's sunglasses and made her way out the door.

She turned to look back in at them one more time just in time to see Josh lean Donna back over his arm for a 'hello' kiss. The Santos staff had gotten very used to this over the last few weeks, but it was a first to Amy. It wasn't until she saw the glittering diamond on Donna's left hand that she finally lost her cool.

Josh and Donna were so wrapped up in each other that they didn't hear the primitive scream from outside the office, but Ned, Ronna and Caroline did. They ran over to the windows just in time to see a red-faced Amy stalk down the street yelling about how 'that was supposed to be my ring, you son of a bitch!' The three of them finally broke down into hysterics.

The laughter of the staff finally brought Josh and Donna out of their kiss. He stood Donna up as she straightened his tie.

Arms still wrapped around Donna, he turned to the three laughing staffers. "You three gonna make it."

Caroline piped up. "Donna, Josh, that was brilliant! Who the hell was that anyway?"

Donna responded. "No one any of has to worry about."

Josh finally released his hold on Donna and picked up his bags. "Alright, moving on…" and the five of them when pack to work on Santos for President and the big fundraiser that was happening that evening.

THE END


	3. Grand Plans

**Grand Plans**

**Author: **Kathleen

**Email: **The Santos Campaign  
**Pairing(s): **Josh/Donna  
**Category(s): **Romance, Post Season 6  
**Rating: TEEN**  
**Disclaimer: **The original characters aren't mine (God Bless You Sorkin, Schlamme, and Wells) but the new staff is ALL mine! Its fun creating new characters – I could do this for a living if Wells so wished it so _(wink, wink, nudge, nudge!)_  
**Summary: **The Santos' Campaign continues. Series: **A New Day has Come **#3 (First two stories: **Changes in Attitude** and **Back to Basics)**  
**Spoiler: **None, really, as long as you watch the show! )

**Author's Notes:** Part of a series I decided to start, thanks to some encouragement. Thanks for all the feedback as well. I realize that there are Amy & Will fans out there, so I apologize, but this has been fun. Also, I tried to be as factual as possible with all the locations I'm using (thank God for City Search on MSN!), so any places I reference are actual locations! Also, I wasn't real sure how to introduce my new characters, so I just kind of stuck them in! Sorry if it seems a bit confusing!

By the end of the day, they had completely forgotten about the whole Amy drama. Well, Josh had forgotten about it the moment he kissed Donna, Donna took a little bit longer.

The five of them spent a good part of the afternoon finishing things up at the office. Everyone was looking forward to the fundraiser. Yeah, they had to work, but it was their first chance to dress up and hob-nob with the rest of the Washington DC elite as members of "Santos for President". Tonight was also going to be the first time the Santos' and the Bartlets were together at an official function. Donna remembers how Helen Santos had stressed about what to wear – she was in awe of Abbey Bartlet and her sense of style – she wanted to make sure she made the right impression. Helen must have dragged Donna to every upscale dress shop in the DC area (including a few in Virginia) before they both finally found the dresses they had been looking for.

At 4:00, the entire Santos staff was meeting at the office for any last minute details they would need before the party. Along with Ned, Ronna, and Caroline were Julia Harrison, the campaign strategist from Texas who had been friends with the Santos' since before Matt ran for office; Adam Crowley, another campaign strategist that Leo had recommended; Jackson Hughes was a speechwriter that had worked for the Speaker of the Kentucky house for several years; along with Jackson was Sandra Mills, a speechwriter who had spent the last three years working for Abbey Bartlet; and lastly was Jane Edwards, Matt Santos' Executive Assistant. Donna and Josh just sat back and watched how they worked together.

She leaned into him and whispered "Do you get the vibe?"

"What vibe?"

"The vibe – you know, like this is the group, these are the people who are going to do something amazing."

"How do you know that's the vibe?"

"Cause it's the same thing I felt during the first campaign, watching you and Sam and CJ and Toby all work in the offices, trying to pull off the impossible!"

He smiled at her and looked at his staff. "Yeah, I think I know what you mean." He gave her a quick hug and returned his attention to the staff.

"You guys about finished?"

They all looked at each other with that deer-in-headlights look that Josh knew all too well.

"Let me guess, no one is sure!"

They all kind of laughed nervously.

"Ok, let's try it this way – Jane, what time are the Santos' arriving?"

Jane whipped open her date book and scanned the page. "Mr. and Mrs. Santos are leaving Alexandria at 4:30 to meet the President and the First Lady at the White House. They will be having drinks and a light dinner in the residence. They will leave the residence at 6:45 and Secret Service will take them directly to the Willard Hotel where they will meet with a few members of the press corps to have pictures taken before they are announced. They are due to be announced at 8:15, assuming that the Congressman doesn't take any questions!"

"Or the President for that matter!" Donna piped up from the back.

Josh whirled around to look at her. "Stop!"

"I'm just saying you all need to look out for the President as well. If they ask him…"

"Donna!"

"What?"

"Stop, you are starting to scare the children!"

Donna looked at the horror on the faces of their staff.

Caroline was finally able to mutter the words "Are you saying I might have to tell the President of the United States to shut his mouth?"

Donna giggled. "It's always a possibility!"

"Oh my god! I quit. Seriously, no, seriously, I mean it this time. I quit!

"Caroline, relax, if anyone has to tell the President to stop talking, we'll make Donna do it. Are the press packets done?" Josh said as he tried to calm her down.

"Copied, stapled and in a box sitting outside the Crystal Room as we speak."

"Good, you are done. Be there 30 minutes before the Bartlet's and the Santos' are supposed to arrive. Get out of here."

Caroline took off without one more word.

"Julia, Adam – you all got the receiving lines and seating figured out?"

They kind of giggled and Julia responded – "Yeah, finally, we forgot the Santos' at first, but it's figured out now."

Donna laughed, remembering a time when the President himself had been forgotten – "don't worry, it happens to the best of us."

"You two got anything else."

They shook their heads and Josh moved on to the bickering speechwriters.

"Could you two stop for just a minute?"

Sandra sighed and turned to Josh.

"Look, it's not like he's not good at this – he's very eloquent, but" she yelled as she turned back to Jackson "how did you manage to get through elementary school without learning proper sentence structure!"

"I'll let you know that I happen to have a very unique writing style."

She held up the yellow pages in Jackson's face. "Are you telling me you don't see a problem with three pages of the SAME paragraph!"

"Unique!"

"That's it, I'm signing you up for English 100 tomorrow at Georgetown, I mean seriously…"

Josh finally stepped in the middle of the two of them. "Please tell me those aren't for tonight!"

Sandra looked at him like he had two heads. "Seriously? The Congressman's speech has been done since last night. These are for the League of Women Voters' Luncheon in Cincinnati in two weeks!"

Jackson chimed in as well. "Really, Josh, you act like we don't know what we're doing. What – you think we aren't professional or something?"

Josh looked at Donna who just shrugged her shoulders.

"You are useless. Why do I keep you around?"

"Impervious"

Josh sighed. "Right. Ok, you two" he said pointing at Jackson and Sandra "can you keep the bickering to a minimum tonight, please?"

"We're professionals Josh. We know what we are doing!"

"Right! You all, get out of here. Ned, Ronna – be at the Willard by 7:30. Everyone else, try to be there as close to that as possible. See you tonight!"

With that, the staff shot out the door.

"They are a little nervous" Donna added from her position perched on the desk.

"They'll be fine."

"I know, I just was saying…"

He turned to look at Donna. "You think I don't know they are nervous?"

"Well, since the infamous Joshua Lyman, nerves of steel, has probably forgotten what it feels like to get nervous, I just wanted to throw that out there."

"Shut up. You wanna leave sometime in the near future."

Donna grabbed her bag and his backpack and was out the door before Josh had finished turning off the lights.

By 7:15, they were finally ready to leave the townhouse – this after one very steamy shower and Donna having to redo her hair and makeup twice. When she finally emerged from the bedroom, Josh was speechless.

Donna came out wearing a blue, strapless dress that Josh was convinced she matched to the engagement ring before buying, since it seemed to be the exact same color as the sapphires on the ring. He didn't know how she managed to take his breath away every time she put on a dress like that, but she did.

"Quit staring Josh."

He threw his tie on the couch and started to stalk toward her. "Forget it, we aren't going."

"Joshua, we kind of have to – our candidate, our campaign and everything."

He continued to approach her. She finally stretched her arm out and pressed her hand to his chest when he got close enough.

"Joshua Lyman, that is close enough. I am NOT redoing my hair and makeup anymore. Besides, it will be VERY noticeable if we are late to the event WE planned!"

Josh groaned in agreement and backed up from the direction he had come from. She walked in his direction and retrieved his tie from the couch. This was their favorite part – she loved tying his bowties and he loved having her do it. It had been a ritual of theirs for years – the only new part was now, Josh wrapped his arms around her waist while she tied the tie, which was something he had wanted to do for years, but couldn't until now.

As soon as he was presentable enough, they gathered their things to head out to the Santos-coming out party!

They had been to several events over the years at the Willard Hotel. Donna loved this place – it had to be the most beautiful hotel in all of DC.

Josh handed his keys to the valet as he opened the door for Donna. As she exited the car, she was greeted by a very nervous looking Josh.

"You going to make it there, Lyman?"

"Would you believe that I'm nervous?"

"Really, Joshua Lyman, nerves of steel…"

"Oh, stop it. I remember what it feels like to get nervous!"

"Really, when was the last time that you got nervous?"

Josh thought about this as they walked through the doors of the Willard Hotel and headed toward the Crystal Room.

"9th grade. I was asking Shelly McCormick to go to the Fall Dance with me. It was the first time I asked a girl out and of course she said yes, cause even back then, no woman could resist the Lyman charm."

Donna groaned as they walked through the doors of the Crystal Room.

"Donnatella, even you can't resist my charm, my style…"

"Your Texas size ego?"

He wiggled his eyebrows at her and gave her a full on dimple smile. "You know, I always knew that you found that irresistible about me!"

"Sometimes are easier to resist than others, there, Joshua!"

Josh grabbed Donna and pulled her into him. He bent her over his arm and gave her a light kiss.

"Is this one of those easier times, Ms. Moss?"

"I would have to say no, not one of those times!"

He laughed as he pulled her back up. She wiped the lipstick off his lips and they began to maneuver their way to the table.

They were so wrapped up in each other that they didn't notice the smiles they were receiving, the whispers of 'it's about damn time' from senators and their wives or the very noticeable and loud groan and the slamming of doors as a certain brunette stormed her way out of the party. 'Stalker' Ned thought as she shot past him and into the night.

It was 9:30 and the party had been in full swing for about an hour. Josh had to send in Donna and Toby at 8:30 to rescue the press corps when Caroline announced that the President and the Congressman had started to ignore her as they debated about the nuances of really good chili at the goading of Greg Brock. Josh had to, on more than one occasion, rip up the napkins Caroline was trying to write her resignation letter on.

Josh and Donna were sipping champagne, enjoying the fantastic reception that the Congressman's speech had gotten with all those in attendance, when they finally heard what they had been waiting to hear all night.

"Joshua Lyman and Donnatella Moss!"

Josh gulped as Donna's eyes got really wide. They both turned their heads to see the First Family, followed by CJ, Kate, Annabeth, Margaret, Carol, Debbie, and Ginger, heading directly toward their table.

"Oh god!"

"Josh!" Donna hissed at him.

"No, seriously, we are going to die sitting in these chairs as the President recounts the historical significance behind a proper proposal!"

"Well, I wasn't really planning on it Josh, but if you so wish me to, feel free to join me for breakfast in the morning – I'll read up on it and give you a full briefing bright and early."

Donna stood up to greet the President as Josh proceeded to bang his head on the table.

"Josh, get up!"

"No thanks, Donna. If I'm going to die in this spot, I'd rather be sitting."

"GET UP!" Donna yelled as she yanked the chair from underneath him. It took all of Josh's skill on to fall flat on his ass. Josh regained his footing and turned to greet their visitors.

"Sir, Ma'am, how are you all this evening?"

The Bartlets started to laugh at the scene that had just played out before them. Abbey Bartlet finally broke the laughter.

"We are fine, Joshua. We just wanted to come over and congratulate you two on the engagement."

Abbey Bartlet gave both of them a hug and a kiss on the cheek while the President shook Josh's hand.

"Can't believe you convinced her to marry you at some point? You can be honest – she was drunk, wasn't she?"

"A little bit, Sir!"

"DONNA!" Josh yelled as he turned toward her. "You were not drunk!"

"I said just a little bit!"

"DONNA!"

The President laughed and gave Donna a hug. "Give the poor guy a break at some point, Donnatella."

"Never sir!"

Abbey Bartlet joined her husband and linked her arm through his. "Well, we just wanted to say congratulations. I think we are going to get out of here, but Donna, I do believe there is something the rest of the women would like to discuss with you." Donna turned to see the gleaming eyes of the rest of the women that had accompanied the President and First Lady over to their table.

"Josh, perhaps you would like to go join the rest of the men at the bar?"

Josh jumped from his spot and started toward the bar. "Absolutely Ma'am, no problem. Donna, I'll be…"

"Joshua Lyman!" Donna said with a warning tone to her voice.

He started walking toward the bar. "Donna, I'll just be right over there. Just wave when you want me to come back."

With that, Donna immediately started to wave both arms over her head. Josh joined in the laughter with the rest of the women.

"Have fun Donnatella. I'll see you later."

"Bite me Joshua!"

"Later Donna!"

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! STOP IT!" Everyone turned to see CJ collapse into a chair with her hands covering her ears. Josh took off before Donna had a chance to stop him again.

Zoey Bartlet pushed Donna back down into the chair she had originally been sitting in. The rest of the women surrounded the table as Jane, Ronna, Caroline, Saundra and Julia joined the group. Zoey started first.

"Ok, Donna Moss, spill it."

"Spill what?"

"You are marrying Josh Lyman! Do you know how many women would DIE to be in your position?"

"Zoey, seriously, most of them are your age…"

"Still, he's very much a catch!"

Ellie Bartlet, who had sat on the other side of Donna, chimed in. "We want to know about the sex!"

"NOT ALL OF US DO!" CJ screeched as she downed what was left of Josh's champagne.

"OK, so everyone but CJ wants to know."

Donna started to blush. "I'll just say that however good you guys think he probably is, he's better and leave it at that."

"I KNEW IT!" Kate yelled from the other side of the table. "I mean, you can just tell, by the way he walks and swaggers and you two have always had that whole foreplay banter thing going on…"

All the women started to laugh and Donna's blush became more apparent.

Josh watched the scene from across the room and became alarmed when Donna started to blush.

"What do you think they are doing over there?"

"Plotting your demise." Charlie responded as he threw back the shot Toby bought him.

Josh gulped. "My demise?"

"And by demise I really mean party, the party the Bartlets want to throw for you and Donna. And by the Bartlets, I really mean Zoey and Mrs. Bartlet."

Toby chuckled as he downed his shot. "Yeah, I was coming into the Oval the other day and I do believe the exact words were 'Jethro, when we want your opinion, we will ask for it and no, you can't make chili'. Ever seen the President speechless, cause I can now say that I have!"

"And" Charlie said as he took a slug of his beer "apparently Debbie had to track down some number for the Mrs. Bartlet of someone in South Florida."

"Oh my god – she's a traitor. My mother's a traitor" Josh yelled as his voice did that whole high pitched thing.

"Apparently!" Toby said as he placed a whiskey shot in front of Josh. "I guess, to some people, it's a big deal."

"Yeah, not so much to us." Charlie said.

"Thanks you two, I mean really, the support is fantastic!" Josh said as he slugged down his shot.

"So, Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum…"

Toby pointed to Charlie. "You're Tweedle Dum."

"I would have to disagree with you there Toby…"

"Seriously, you two, concentrate…"

"What?"

"Any idea what Mrs. Bartlet talked to my mom about?"

"Nope, but there's a memo somewhere about it…"

Josh said nothing and began to bang his head on the bar.

Donna started to get concerned.

"Anyone know why Josh is banging his head on the bar?"

Debbie looked over. "Oh, Charlie probably told him about the conversation Mrs. Bartlet had with his mom."

"Oh, okay… wait, what? Who had what with who?"

Zoey had a really evil look on her face, Donna noticed. "Oh yeah, mom and Mrs. Lyman had a REALLY long conversation the other day. They must have spent, god, like 2 hours on the phone!"

"Oh my god. Lydia's a traitor, a damn traitor."

"Yeah, mom would have talked longer, but she only got your parent's machine."

"WHAT!"

Margaret decided to join in on the fun. "Yeah, can you imagine coming home for the grocery store to this message – 'Mr. and Mrs. Moss, this is Abbey Bartlet, from the White House. I would love to talk to you about Josh and Donna, so if you could call me back, the number to the White House is…"

Donna started to look at the floor. "Why is there NEVER a hole around when you want one to swallow you up? Something needs to be done about that!"

CJ decided that she needed to save Donna before she started to dig a hole to hide in right there in the middle of the Willard Hotel.

"Ladies, don't you think we should tell Donna the real reason we cornered her tonight?"

Zoey got very excited all of a sudden. "Donna, me and mom decided that we are going to throw you a great engagement party sometime in the next month or so. And don't try to say you are too busy cause…"

Donna watched Jane pull out her date book. "We already have the date picked out and coordinator schedules with the Congressman, Mrs. Santos, Mr. McGarry and the Bartlets."

Zoey smiled triumphantly. "See, no getting out of it. And, the bonus, is that you don't have to worry about planning, you two just need to show up. Mom and I will take care of everything – food, drink, guests, entertainment…"

"Entertainment?" Donna squeaked.

"Trust us, everything will be fine!"

"I think Josh had the right idea" Donna said as she started to bang her head on the table as the rest of the women started to roar.

Another whiskey shot and beer later, Josh noticed that Donna was now sitting alone at the table in front of 4 empty champagne flutes. He took his leave of Toby and Charlie and made his way back to her.

He sat down next to her. "You alright?"

"I think I've been run over by a train."

He gave her a very confused look.

"Seriously, the Bartlet Train. Those Bartlet women, they just run you right over with their good intentions and evil ideas and make plans and then tell you that the 'entertainment' will be taken care of – what the hell does that even mean anyway, 'entertainment' and they call our parents and discuss, in detail, well, everything and then, when you really need a hole, there never is one!"

She sighed and put her head back down on the table. It was muffled, but Josh was able to make out "Did you know about the party?"

"Charlie told me something about that."

"Did you know Mrs. Bartlet called your mom?"

"Once again, thanks to Agent Young over there…"

"Did you know she left a message on my parents' machine?"

Josh laughed. At least his mom wasn't the only parent involved in whatever grand plans were being hatched. "Nope, didn't know that."

Donna shot straight up and turned to look at him. "They don't get it Josh, they don't get it. We aren't typical, we are nowhere near usual. I mean, look at how we got engaged. I wouldn't have changed that for the world, but everyone else thinks it's weird. Helen didn't even believe me when I told her about it. She wanted to know where the flowers and grand romantic gesture was and I told her that you walking into that store with me was the grand romantic gesture. She just laughed until she saw that I was serious."

He really wanted to make her laugh. "Besides, you don't even like flowers!"

Success! She started to laugh. "Idiot, I don't like flowers in April."

"Oh that's right. I really need to make a note of that somewhere."

"Josh, what are we going to…"

He grabbed her hand and pulled them into his lap. "Donna, here's what we are going to do. See, I've got some grand plans of my own."

She smiled at him. "And what would those be Mr. Lyman?"

"Well, see, first, we get out of here as fast as humanly possible so I can take you back to the brownstone and FINALLY get you out of that dress. I'm going to do some very fantastic things to you until you scream my name. And, at that point, I'll have made sure that you've forgotten about whatever everyone else is planning for us. We'll let them have their fun and plan their party, cause when it comes down to the important plans" he said wagging his eyebrows at her "well, those are just between us!"

She stood up and pulled up to her. She kissed him for all she was worth and he responded. It was a good thing that the room was mostly empty at this point, since the Santos' had left about a half hour earlier. It wasn't until they heard "Get a Room!" from a very drunk Toby and Charlie at the bar that they gathered their things and left.

And he was right about one thing, she decided the next morning – once she started screaming his name, she forgot about everything else.

The End, until the next chapter…


	4. Clarity

**Clarity**

**Characters:**The Santos Campaign  
**Pairing(s): **Josh/Donna  
**Category(s): **Romance, Post Season 6  
**Rating: TEEN**  
**Disclaimer: **Not mine, not mine, not mine. Feel free to sue if you like, but it would be a waste of your time since you all have more pocket change than I have in my checking account!  
**Summary: **The Santos' Campaign continues. Series: **A New Day has Come **#4  
**Spoiler: **None, really, as long as you watch the show!

The next month was a whirlwind. The fundraiser had been a smashing success now everyone wanted on the Santos-McGarry bandwagon. Donna barely had time to sleep, much less to think about what the Bartlett women were planning for her and Josh down the road.

The Santos camp spent all the time they had criss-crossing the country. On more than one occasion, Josh and Donna ran into Bruno and the rest of the Vinnick camp – Donna couldn't believe that Bruno actually looked stressed.

The Congressman had become the most popular man in the country, seemingly over night. Schedules were arranged, re-arranged, and then re-arranged again! Josh and Donna tried to make sure that one of them was always in the main office, to deal with the satellite offices, contributors, lobbyists and what not.

Already, the battleground states were becoming apparently clear. Ohio, Michigan, Florida, Tennessee and North Carolina were all up for grabs. The battle for the White House was on.

Josh was so tired of Ohio. He swore that if he saw Cleveland or Akron or Columbus or Cincinnati again, it would be way too soon, and the campaign still had a good 5 months left to go.

Josh stepped off the plane at the Lunken Airport in Cincinnati and swore under his breath.

"What's the matter Josh?" Matt Santos asked as he exited the plane.

"How can you be so chipper? It's only 9 in the morning and it already feels like its a hundred degrees in this town!"

"It's refreshing!"

"You're insane!"

"Cheer up bucko! We are going to have a great time!"

"Seriously, I'm going to push in the river this time. I was joking the last time, but this time, I mean it!"

"Secret Service might have a problem with that."

"It's their idea!"

Matt Santos just laughed, slapped Josh on the back and strode off toward the limos that were waiting for them.

Caroline, Jane, Ned, and Jackson quickly filed out of the plane.

Matt looked over his shoulder and called out – "Lyman, Caroline, you two are with me!"

Ned, Jane, and Jackson snickered under their breaths. Caroline looked up from her notebook and gave Josh an exasperated look of terror.

"No way!"

"Caroline, just get in the car."

"You know he is just doing this to torture me. Shouldn't he be concentrating on, oh… I don't know, winning this election instead of picking on me!"

"Caroline, just ignore him."

"I'm sorry, do what?"

"Ignore him."

"Yeah, that's excellent career advice Josh – ignore the candidate. Seriously, how many times did you ignore President Bartlet in your 7 years working for him?"

"Honestly…"

"Oh shut up!"

Ned, Jane and Jackson giggled as they got in the lead limo. Caroline let out a huge sigh and got into the second limo right next to Matt Santos. He gave her a wicked smile and opened his mouth.

"Listen, Caroline, I had a great idea…"

"Please, Congressman, please, I'm begging you, can we NOT do this today, or at least not this morning? Yesterday was bad enough!"

"What? Josh thought it was brilliant!"

Josh shot him a look. "Leave me out of this."

"You're just mad you didn't think of it first."

Caroline could feel the headache already coming on. "Congressman, don't you think entering that pie eating contest at the fair would have made you look a little silly?"

Matt beamed. "I think it would have made me look like a man of the people. Besides, it was chocolate pudding pie – that's my favorite."

Caroline sighed. "You're driving me to an early grave Congressman, an early grave."

"Oh Caroline, ass kissing will get you everywhere in politics!"

"I quit!"

Josh looked up from the memo he was reading. "Yeah, that reminds me, Caroline, stop sending singing telegrams to the office with your resignation. Julia and Donna could barely stop laughing yesterday about the donkey singing 'Take this Job and Shove It'! I had to hang up on Donna because she couldn't talk. Besides, that doesn't count!"

Matt chimed in. "Besides, you work at the pleasure of… well, me, and I say you stay. I wouldn't be having near as much fun if you weren't here!"

Caroline sighed and slumped back into her seat. "You two suck!"

Matt laughed as he reached for the memo Josh was handing him. "Oh Caroline, there you go with the compliments again…"

Josh stared out the window as they drove from the airport to the Cincinnatian Hotel. It was now Friday and he had been traveling with the Congressman since Monday and they weren't scheduled to return to DC until late Sunday night. Donna had stayed behind to help prep Helen for the DNC's Women in Politics Dinner that she was co-hosting with Abbey Bartlet and to help Leo finalize his staff and schedule for the next few weeks. He didn't think he could have missed Donna more than when they were working for opposing sides, but boy, was he wrong.

Josh came out of his daze when Matt Santos shook him. "Snap out of it Josh, we're here."

As Josh was exiting the limo, his phone rang. His face lit up when he saw the number.

"Good morning Donnatella."

"Sweltering in Cincinnati yet?"

"What is it about this town? Its 9:30 and I could already fry an egg on the sidewalk! How's it there?"

"Wouldn't know – I'm still in bed!"

"What? What in the world are you doing in bed still?"

"I had a late night and I don't have anything scheduled till lunch today, so I decided to sleep in. Deal with it!"

"Late night? What kind of late night?"

"You know, the kind where CJ and Kate get me completely hammered and I wake up on the floor with a red thong around my neck."

"Your humor, this morning, is astounding."

"I'm a delight 24 hours a day Joshua!"

"Seriously, late night?"

"Yeah, all the prep is done for the trip to Detroit next month and then Sandra wanted some help polishing up Helen's speech for the event."

"And she asked you?"

"In case you forgot, I can bring the funny."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, you're an absolute riot!" Josh was now standing in the middle of the lobby while Matt worked the rope line on his way in. He was scanning the lobby when he saw her.

"Oh, you have got to be kidding me! Son of a bitch!"

"What?

"You are NEVER going to believe who is here?"

"Franklin Roosevelt."

"You are on a roll this morning, Donna, a real roll."

"I told you – I bring the funny!"

"Yeah. Anyway, I need to go."

"Who's there?"

"Amy." He said through gritted teeth as he watched her cross the room toward him.

"Get an agent to shoot her."

"Donna…"

"No, seriously, Joe is with you all. He'll do it. He said he would do it."

"You don't think he was kidding?"

"Well, that's not something one should joke about. A sensitive system, yes, maiming Amy Gardner, no."

"Donna, it will be fine."

"Ned thinks she's stalking you."

"I'm beginning to agree with Ned."

"Josh…"

"Donna, really, it will be fine. Look, I've got to go get Matt. Caroline looks like she is about to have a fit."

"Josh…"

"Donna, please, don't worry about it. I love you and she's a pain in the ass. Don't worry about it."

"Ok!"

"Get out of bed."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah."

"Love you."

"Me too." With that, he snapped his phone shut. He hadn't seen Amy sneak up behind him.

"Hey J."

"Amy. What in God's name are you doing here?"

"Oh, I'm doing some work for the DNC and I just happened to get assigned this event! Quite a coincidence, huh!"

"Yeah, if that's what you want to call it."

"So, how are things?"

"Fine. I've got to go."

"Let's get together later."

"I don't think so."

"C'mon J – for old times sake."

"Yeah, still, no."

"Don't be stupid. I'll catch up with you later."

With that, Amy headed back toward where she had come from. Josh just shook his head and moved back toward where the Congressman was.

"Sir, we've really got to get moving."

The morning was spent attending meetings and interviews with news outlets from all over the area. The staff had a late lunch in the Santos suite. They all took a few hours to rest and get ready for the fundraiser that evening.

Josh was laying on the bed reading a memo when he heard a knock at the door. He opened the door to see Amy Gardner, standing in front of him.

"Told you I'd catch up with you later" she said as she strode into the room.

"Get out."

"J, that's rude."

"Seriously, Amy, I'm busy. Get out."

"I thought we could catch up."

"Not interested."

"J, shut the door."

Josh sighed. "Not until you are on the other side of it."

Amy walked back over and shut the door for him. "There, that's better."

Josh crossed the room and flopped down in the chair behind the small desk. "What do you want?"

"What are you doing?"

"Campaigning. You?"

"C'mon J, don't be that way. We're on the same side."

"I don't think so."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

Josh ran his right hand through his hair and sighed. "Nothing. Amy, did you need something?"

She smirked. "You could say that."

The meaning of that sentence wasn't lost on Josh. He got up and started to move past her to shove her out the door. "Ok, that's it, get out. Seriously, get out."

Before he had a chance to slide past her, she threw her arms around his neck and pressed her lips to his. His shock turned to sickness as he thought he was going to throw up when Amy tried to wrap her right leg around his hips. With all the force he could muster, he grabbed her shoulders and shoved her as hard as he could. She landed with a thud on the ground in front of the bed.

"What the hell, Josh!"

"I told you, get out."

Amy pulled her self off the ground and sat on the bed.

"C'mon Josh – seriously, are you really going to try to convince me that you aren't interested?"

"There's no convincing to it, Amy, I'm NOT interested."

"Since when?"

"What, you want like a date or something?"

"Does this have anything to do with your secretary?"

Josh looked confused for a minute. While Amy may have considered Donna is secretary (and always would), Josh never saw her that way. He had always looked on her as an equal, no matter what anyone else thought or said.

"What does Ned have to do with this?"

"Who in the world is Ned?"

"My secretary, or assistant or whatever. What does he have to do with this?"

"J, I meant Donna."

Anger flashed before his eyes. He'd never hit a woman before in his life, but he was coming close to decking Amy.

"Get. Out. Now."

Amy looked thoroughly confused. "What?"

Josh counted to ten before he spoke. "Ok, listen to me and listen carefully cause I'm only saying this once. Don't talk about Donna. She's not my secretary, she was never my secretary and you know that. I don't know why calling Donna my secretary makes you feel better about yourself, but knock it off. She's more than that, she's always been more than that, and the quicker you realize that, the better off you will be!"

Amy stood toe to toe with Josh. 'No way is that blonde taking what is rightfully mine!' she thought to herself. "J, are you sleeping with her?"

"You bet your ass I am. But it's more than that Amy, more than I think you could ever comprehend. She's part of my life – always has been – and I like it that way. We are a team, a well oiled machine and the plans I make I make around her and us and the rest of our lives!"

Amy couldn't believe her ears. "Wait, so it's true! You're marrying HER!"

"Absolutely!"

"J, c'mon. She's not in your stratosphere. You need to be with someone who compliments you, who has your drive, your hunger for power and the kill."

And, at that moment, everything became clear in Josh's head. The guy that Amy was describing, yeah, that had been him 10 years ago. 10 years ago, he wanted nothing more than power and to be around the powerful. 10 years ago, he had been the guy – the guy that everyone wanted on their side because of his need for the kill, the battles and the power. Before Donna, all the women he had been with had been part of a 'power couple'. He had needed women who would help him succeed when he was at parties and galas. After Donna, all of that had changed. He saw that now. That day in Manchester all those years ago had really changed his life in more ways than he could have ever realized, until this exact moment.

Josh felt happiness and relaxation wash over, even as Amy fumed right in front of him.

"You know, Amy, I just realized that you just described me, but a me I'm not anymore. You may need to be part of a power couple, you may feel the need to power date and work your way up the Congressional ranks, but that's me, at least not anymore. The man that I am now is the man I was always supposed to be and Donna made that happen. Donna, not you. Donna has no interest in the power side of DC, in being part of a power couple. That may be what we are, but it's not what we intended. That's what you need, not her. Donna has no interest in that world and any world that Donna doesn't have an interest in, I have no interest in. Not anymore."

Amy's face turned bright red. "So, you're seriously going to go through with it?"

"As soon as humanly possible, if I have my way."

"ASSHOLE!" Amy screamed as she threw open the door and stormed down the hallway. Josh watched her careen down the hall, not missing for one moment what had just walked out of his life. As he closed the door, he mentally noted that he was closing the door on that part of his life and smiled as he realized what he was moving toward.

The next few days were completely uneventful. Amy, apparently, had made a spectacular scene as she left the hotel. Ned and Caroline had been in the lobby as a red-faced Amy stormed her way out, claiming that 'she was not to be overlooked or brushed aside for anyone'. As the events and days went on, no one really missed Amy Gardner at all.

By Sunday night, the Santos Campaign was exhausted and looking forward to sleeping in their own beds for once. By 11:15, Josh was standing in front of the brownstone, unlocking the door to his future.

He had barely had a chance to talk to Donna, but sure had talked to her voicemail a lot, just as she had talked to his. All he wanted was to see her face and fall asleep next to her.

The apartment was dark, except for the small light that Donna had left on for him. He dropped everything and tiptoed back to the bedroom. There he saw her – the future he had been talking to Amy about. The future was in the shape of a beautiful blonde asleep with a book on her stomach and the TV turned to CNN. He was in awe of her and the impact she had had on life. He quickly shed his clothes and got into bed. She started to stir as he pulled the blankets over him.

Donna opened one sleepy eye to look at the commotion that had stirred her from her sleep.

"You're back."

"Miss me?"

"Tons"

"C'm here." He said as he motioned for her to cuddle with him.

He leaned back as she threw her right arm across his chest and rested her head on his shoulder.

"How'd it go?" Donna asked as got comfortable.

"Matt Santos was a hit with Cincinnati."

"Did you have any doubt that he wouldn't be?"

"None at all."

"Anything else?"

"Nope."

"Did you get the agents to shoot Amy like I asked?"

Josh laughed. He hadn't had one thought about Amy Gardner since she stalked out of his room those few days ago. "No, but I don't think we will have to worry about Amy Gardner anymore. I don't think she will bother any of us again."

"If you're sure, but I still think you should have had Joe shoot her. Then we would know for sure."

"Go back to sleep Donnatella."

"I tried to wait up for you Joshua."

"Shh."

And they both laid there in silence, each lulling the other into sleep. As Josh fell asleep, he had pictures of the future Lyman family in his head and that gave him more happiness and contentment than he thought he could ever feel.

TBC…


	5. The Gathering

**The Gathering**

**Character(s): **The Santos Campaign  
**Pairing(s): **Josh/Donna  
**Category(s): **Romance, Post Season 6  
**Rating: TEEN**  
**Disclaimer: **Not mine, not mine, not mine. Feel free to sue if you like, but it would be a waste of your time since you all have more pocket change than I have in my checking account!  
**Summary: **The Santos' Campaign continues. Series: **A New Day has Come **#5  
**Spoiler: **None, really, as long as you watch the show! )

**Author's Notes: **So, it occurred to me that JW has sped us up a year – that the election that we are getting ready to witness is supposed to be in 2006, not 2005 (since Bartlet was re-elected in 2002!). So, before someone overreacts to the dates I'm using in the story – I'm using 2006 dates instead of 2005, to make the timeline match up like it should. Just an FYI! Also, I apologize now if you don't like my pairings – I spent a lot of time going back and forth on this in my head, but I think that this makes the most sense, at least to me, and it's my story so P!

Before they knew it, it was Labor Day weekend. This campaign had been long, hard, and fun for the most part – it reminded Josh and Donna a lot of the early Bartlet days. They were busy campaigning, fundraising and prepping for the two debates that would happen in the weeks leading up to the election in November.

Matt and Helen had insisted on taking the Labor Day weekend off, at least part of it – namely Sunday and Monday. That's why Josh was surprised when, late one night the week before Labor Day, their phone rang late.

"Hello?"

"Josh, its Helen."

"Mrs. Santos? Is there something you needed?"

"Not really. Did I wake you?"

Josh laughed. Did this woman not realize that neither he nor Donna ever went to sleep before midnight? It's like working in Washington puts your body on a different clock than the rest of the country.

"No Ma'am. I'm just reading a file and Donna is in the shower. What can I do for you?"

"Well, Matt and I wanted to have you and Donna up for dinner this weekend."

"I'm sorry – this weekend?"

"Yeah, did you all already have plans?"

"Well, no Ma'am, but… sorry, I'm just a little confused… I thought you all wanted a down weekend."

"Ok, Lyman, let's get one thing straight… not a working dinner. What I'm talking about is a dinner party. Donna gets to wear something fun, you get to wear something besides a suit and tie. We sit on the porch and have drinks while Matt grills and we SOCIALIZE – you know, like friendly adults do."

"I'm sorry Ma'am… I'm unfamiliar with the situation. Do you think you could explain it to me again, using small words and talking very, very slowly?"

"Ok jackass, are you two interested or what?"

"When?"

"Saturday night – about 8 or so?"

"We'll be there Ma'am."

"Fantastic. Glad we got that worked out. See you then."

"Have a good night Ma'am."

"You too Josh."

Josh hung up the phone as Donna came out of the bathroom. Most guys needed their women to be all glitzed up – makeup, some kind of fancy dress, beautiful jewelry. Most guys found that is when they were most attracted to their women. Not Josh – all he needed was Donna, fresh out of the shower wearing an old pair of his boxers and her favorite red tank top. Not that he didn't appreciate a dressed up Donna, but he found this real Donna so very attractive. Ever since she had moved in, he had a new appreciation for the real Donna – the Donna that lounged around on the couch after a hard day at work or cooked on the weekends. This is when he found her most irresistible.

"Hey, who was that on the phhmmmmmmmmm…"

She didn't even get the sentence finished before Josh had attacked her lips. After quite a make out session in the hallway, she was finally able to pull out of the kiss.

"You know, this is why I always shower in the morning before work."

"Get in bed."

"Why Mr. Lyman, you sweep me off my feet."

With that, he picked her up off the ground and swung her legs around either side of his waist. She locked her ankles behind his back as he kissed his way down her neck.

Breathlessly, she asked "Josh, on the phone… who… on the phone?"

He continued to kiss her neck and walk them toward the bedroom as he responded. "Helen. Dinner with her and Matt Saturday night in Alexandria at the house."

"Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh." He didn't know if that was a response to his answer or a response to what he was currently doing to her ear.

She was about to inquire into why Helen had invited them over for dinner, but before she had a chance, he had peeled of his shirt, her tank top and had pulled her on top of him on the bed. It never occurred to her that maybe this dinner wasn't everything it was cracked up to be until it was too late.

Helen Santos had the door open before they had made it up the steps.

"Well, just look at you two. I'm in shock that you two own more than office wear."

They both laughed as they entered through the door – Donna first, in her short khaki skirt, red sleeveless button down blouse and black flip flops, followed by Josh, in his khaki pants and dark blue short sleeved shirt. He knew this was Donna's favorite 'casual' shirt – as she made clear by making them late because she couldn't keep her hands off of him.

Donna sniffed the air as soon as they were in the house. "Wow! I didn't realize I was starved! Everything smells great."

Helen walked in front of them – "We've got everything set up out back, follow me."

Josh unconsciously grabbed Donna's hand and laced their fingers together as they followed Helen Santos through the house. Helen threw open the French doors leading out to the backyard and as Josh and Donna walked through it – that's when they heard

"SURPRISE!"

Donna's mouth hung open, with huge eyes, as Josh muttered "Holy Shit!"

They were in shock because they were looking at all of their friends and family. Helen came around in front of them and faced the stunned couple. She smiled widely – "Welcome to your engagement party!"

Donna looked at Josh and whispered "Oh my god" to him as they started to take in the group that had assembled.

First was the President and First Lady. How Donna had not noticed the extra Secret Service on the grounds was beyond her, but they had managed to hide themselves very well. Next to the President was Matt Santos, who had been joined by Helen. Next to the Abbey Bartlet stood Zoey, next to Zoey was Ellie and next to Ellie was Liz, with Doug standing behind her.

On the other side of Matt Santos stood Leo and Mallory and next to Mallory stood Lydia Lyman. Lydia had her arm around the shoulder of the one and only Isabella Moss, and they seemed to be getting along like they had known each other their whole lives. Next to Isabella was Michael Moss, who was laughing at the reaction of his daughter and future son-in-law. Filling out the Moss clan was Donna's older sister by 12 years, Carmen Moss-Maguire with her husband Tom and Donna's niece and nephew – 20 year old John and 17 year old Johanna. Along with Donna's mom, dad, and sister was her Aunt Barbara and Uncle Tom with her cousins – 34 year old Kendra and 29 year old Lauren.

Filling out the rest of group was the friends that had weaved their way into the lives of Donna Moss and Josh Lyman. Donna and Josh scanned the faces of Sam Seaborn, Ainsley Hayes, Stephanie Gault, Matt Skinner, Angela Blake, Ryan Pierce, Joey Lucas and Kenny, Danny Concannon, Toby and Ande – who were busy rangling in 5 year olds Huck and Molly – Stanley Keyworth, Mike Casper, CJ, Annabeth, Kate, Charlie, Cliff Calley, Joe Quincy, Margaret with her 3 month old daughter in her arms, Rena, Carol, Ginger, Debbie, Kathy, Ed, Larry, and the members of their staff – Caroline, Ned, Ronna, Jane, Julia, Adam, Sandra and Jackson.

Matt Santos broke from the group and came over to the still-silent couple.

"So, you two surprised, I take it!"

Josh was finally able to respond. "How in the world did you all pull this off without us finding out?"

Matt laughed. "Really, Josh, you aren't a hard man to distract."

"Ok, let me try again – how did you all pull this off without Donna finding out?"

"Well, let me tell you what – those Bartlet women are crafty when they need to be. It's a little scary."

Donna was finally able to respond – "You don't have to tell me that, Sir!"

Matt laughed. "C'mon Chicken Fighter – I think there are some family members that need to see you to make sure you are still alive." Matt led them in the direction of the waiting party.

As Josh and Donna made their way toward the group, they were both attacked by Lydia Lyman. As she wrapped one arm around each of them and pulled them into her, she started to cry. As Josh would later find out, that wasn't the first time that night she had cried.

"Mom?" All Josh got in response was a muffled sob.

"Mom? Ok, really, Mom, really, please stop crying. You're acting like this is some kind of miracle or something."

Lydia Lyman released her hold on her son and future daughter-in-law and grabbed Josh's face with both hands.

"Of course it's a miracle. You pulled your head out of your ass. I thought it was going take an act of Congress to get you to do that."

"So that's what has turned you into a weeping mass?"

Lydia smiled at her son. "Well not exactly."

"Then what exactly, Mom?"

She gave Josh a huge smile, turned and directed it at Donna, and then turned to face the group. She shot both arms up in the air and yelled "I'm finally getting grandchildren!"

The rest of the group laughed as Josh turned red and as his jaw hit the ground. Donna began stomping on the ground muttering something about a button to create a hole in the ground whenever she needed it.

Lydia turned and directed her attention to a very embarrassed Donna Moss.

"Donna, my dear – you do realize what you are getting into with my son, right?"

Donna smiled at the older woman and just shook her head.

Lydia laughed. "Alright then, now that that's settled, isn't this supposed to be a party!"

The rest of the group let out a very loud whoop and began to mingle. Josh gave Donna a light kiss on her cheek and let go of her hand. Donna made her way toward her parents and Josh made his way toward his old friend, Sam.

Before Donna got to her parents, she was attacked by Kendra and Lauren. Since her sister had been so much older than her, she had always been closer to her cousins, so she wasn't surprised that they were the first family members to greet her.

As the three of them stood in a hug, Kendra and Lauren prattled on, not letting Donna get a word in edgewise.

"Donna!"

"Oh my god, you look great."

"Which is surprising since I hear living out of a hotel can be murder."

"Yeah, but if I got to share a room with that gorgeous man I would look as good as Donna does."

"No kidding, Donna, he's fantastic to look at. Much better looking than on TV."

"We want details by the way, Donnatella, and not the kind of details you share with your mom and dad."

"Exactly. I mean, just look at how he moves. I bet he moves that way all the time, if you get what I'm saying."

"God, Lauren, it's not like your subtle or anything. I think everyone gets what you are saying."

"And god Lord, look at the rest of the guys here. I mean, Josh, yeah, gorgeous, but Matt Santos – yeah he's definitely got my vote in the fall. Hell, he can have more than my vote if you know what I mean."

"Good God, Lauren, what the hell has gotten into you tonight. I mean, the President of the United States is only like 10 feet away from us. Have a little decorum."

"If this is what all the men in DC look like, I'm moving here."

Before her cousins could continue, they were interrupted by Carmen. "Girls, really, give her a little breathing room."

Kendra and Lauren laughed and let go of Donna. Carmen moved in to give her sister a hug. "Congratulations, little bit – it's great!"

Donna had always been in awe of her older sister. By the time Donna started first grade, her sister had left for college, but she loved it when Carmen came home for weekends and breaks and would drive her all over Madison. CJ reminded Donna a lot of Carmen, which is why Donna latched on to CJ all those years ago.

Donna returned her sister's hug. "Thanks, Carmen, but you could not call me little bit – there are important people here who think that I'm important. The nickname doesn't do a lot for my credibility."

Carmen just laughed. She knew that Donna hated that nickname. Donna had grown up around adults and always wanted to be included in whatever her parents, or her for the fact, were doing. The nickname was something that just kind of stuck one weekend that Carmen was home from college. Carmen had taken Donna shopping and the clerk at a store in the mall had called her 'little bit'. Carmen thought it was hysterical, Donna – not so much. Carmen shared the story with her parents that night and that's how the name started.

Donna gave her niece, nephew, brother-in-law, aunt, and uncle each a hug before making her way over to her parents. Her mom and dad had been in their late 30s when they found out that the food poisoning Isabella thought she had was an unexpected pregnancy. Donna's relationship with her parents had been rocky when she was a teenager – they had tried to keep up with her and her doings, but Donna wanted none of it. They had liked Troy – aka Dr. Freeride – and were disappointed when she up and left him to drive to New England. As time passed, they got used to the idea that Donna wasn't their little girl anymore and had even warmed up to Josh the few times they had met. They couldn't be any happier for their youngest, or any prouder of her after they had met Matt Santos and Jed Bartlet, than they were right now.

Donna wasn't real sure what to say as she approached her parents. They didn't need words – they both grabbed her and gave her a hug. Her mom cried a little bit as her dad gave her a kiss on the head and said "Congratulations, honey. Mom and I couldn't be prouder."

Donna pulled back and looked at her parents. She couldn't help but laugh. "Really, even though he's a Democrat."

Her dad looked across the yard at where Josh was standing and laughed. "Yeah, even though he's a Democrat. I mean, every family needs a black sheep – looks like Josh Lyman will be ours!"

After Josh had hugged Sam and Sam had returned with his beer and Toby and CJ, Josh noticed Michael Moss laughing at him. Josh looked at Sam and raised his eyebrows.

"Should I be worried that Donna's dad seems to be laughing at me?"

Sam took a swig of his beer and shrugged his shoulders. "Don't know – does he normally laugh at you?"

"I'm lucky if he acknowledges me when we are around them."

"Well, then, it would seem that that relationship is starting to thaw. That can only be a good thing, right?"

Josh looked from Sam to Toby to CJ, who all looked perplexed. "Yeah, you three are a great help. Really, huge. I appreciate it!"

CJ patted Josh on the shoulder, smiled, and made her way toward Donna. Toby left Josh and Sam to try to catch Huck, who was running through the backyard banging a pot on his head that he had pilfered from the Santos' kitchen.

Josh and Sam sat down at a small table. Sam looked at Josh and just shook his head.

"What?"

"So, you two really did this? I mean, this thing – you and Donna… it's really happening?"

Josh looked across the yard at the beautiful blonde, who was currently being interrogated by her cousins yet again. Without taking his eyes off her, he answered "You bet your ass we are. Sooner rather than later, if it were up to me, but Donna thinks we should wait till after the election. Donna wanted New Years' Eve, I wanted November 7th, so we compromised."

Sam couldn't believe what he was hearing – this was a very different Josh Lyman from the one that had pulled him out of a meeting at Gage Whitney Pace all those years ago. He about choked on his beer when Josh said 'November 7th'.

"So when?"

"Clear your calendar, Sammy boy, for November 25th – I'm gonna need a best man if you are interested."

Sam smiled. "Of course, someone needs to make sure you don't trip over your words and piss Donna off."

Josh smirked at his best friend and recalled an earlier conversation with Donna – she had pretty much said the same thing when telling him that Sam absolutely had to be his best man. In fact, Donna was more than covering her bets, with CJ as her maid of honor.

"Yeah, Donna kinda said the same thing."

Josh and Sam fell into a comfortable silence, sipping on their beers. Josh couldn't help but notice the redhead from across the yard who kept eyeing Sam from her seat between Helen Santos and Abbey Bartlet.

Josh decided to broach the subject. "So, Sam…."

"Yeah."

"I heard from a little birdie that you and Mallory…"

"Oh my god. How did you hear about that? Does Leo know? Remember the last time… with the position paper… oh crap!"

Josh just laughed. "Relax, Sam, I heard from Donna. Apparently, CJ's only means of relaxation these days is to gossip with Donna once a week at their regularly scheduled lunch."

Sam breathed a sigh of relief. "See, it's not that we don't want to tell Leo, but with the campaign and everything… well, we kind of figured the less stress the better, you know."

"Sam, what do I care?"

Sam just smiled, which got even wider as Josh felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked up and saw Mallory O'Brien.

Josh got up out of his seat and gave Mallory a hug. "You look great – looks like California agrees with you."

"You could say that" she said as she smirked and waggled her eyebrows.

"Oh god. That's just too much information."

"I just wanted to give you a hug and say congratulations. How you managed to land her I'll never understand."

"You aren't the only one, Mal."

"Well, I'll let you two get back to the manly talk."

Josh noticed the disappointment on his friend's face – the prospect of Mallory walking away seemed to be something he didn't like. He knew how that felt.

"Nah, Mal, you stay. I'm going to mingle."

Mallory smiled. "Thanks Josh. Oh, by the way, are the rumors true?"

"What rumors?"

"I hear we are getting a White House wedding."

"Yeah, I hear that's the plan. I don't really have a lot of say, between Donna, the First Lady, CJ and Zoey. They said they would tell me what time to show up."

Mallory just laughed and took Josh's seat. Josh took off to join another group he had spied when he first sat down and Sam planted a kiss on Mallory while Leo was looking the other way.

"What in the world do you mean you aren't getting married in Madison?"

Donna was so very used to her mother being disappointed in her decisions, but now Carmen and her aunt Barbara had joined in the disappointment party. She started looking around for help. CJ had joined the group, but had done very little to convince her family that a DC wedding was for the best. Now, CJ was sitting quietly nursing her beer while Josh seemed to be doing his best to avoid the group altogether.

"Can I please explain?"

"I would love to hear this Donnatella, considering I've already got the club reserved for the first weekend in June."

"Well, you need to cancel that since we are getting married on November 25th."

"I'm sorry – THIS November 25th?" Carmen seemed stunned that this was happening in only 4 months.

"Yes, Carmen, this November 25th – with the long weekend for Thanksgiving, we figured it would be the perfect weekend. And yes, the wedding is going to be in DC – the White House to be exact."

Now, her mother looked impressed. "I'm sorry, did you just say that you are getting married in the White House?"

Donna really wished she could find something to bang her head on. She wondered if her family would mind if she just laid down on the ground and beat the back of her head against the patio.

"Ok, everyone listen up – this is the plan and I'm only going to explain it once."

Her family and the rest of the group that had gathered around turned and gave their full attention to Donna as she stood up to explain their reasoning. Even Lydia, who had helped come up with the DC idea gave her full attention to Donna.

"OK, this is why Josh and I decided this would be for the best. Yes, we discussed a Madison wedding next summer – hell, we even started to check things out on the internet. I've always wanted to get married in Madison, like any other normal person, but the thing is, Josh and I aren't normal people."

CJ snorted at that comment and tried her best not to laugh, which she failed at spectacularly.

"Shut up Claudia Jean. You know what I meant. Josh and I don't have normal jobs or a normal life, and that is fine with us. We love what we do and the people that we work with. Yes, in any other job, we could take two weeks in the middle of the summer, get married and go on a great honeymoon, but that is just not a viable option for the two of us."

"Now, the other main reason is this – we are more than likely going to have the current and next President of the United States in attendance, along with the Vice-President elect, not to mention the current Chief of Staff, who has her own detail of Secret Service. Not just them, but the current and future First Families, who each have their own detail. Do you have any idea what kind of raucous that would cause in little ol' Madison – it would be a nightmare and would turn our day into a complete circus. That, I am not interested in at all."

Donna could see the realization of all this beginning to dawn on the faces of her mom, sister, aunt and dad. They hadn't thought about the logistics of having all that kind of security around.

Michael Moss looked at his daughter, sheepishly. "Donna, we didn't even think of that."

"No kidding, Daddy. Secret Service would have to spend weeks doing checks on anyone that would come within 100 feet of the wedding. It will just be easier for the Secret Service to control if we get married at the White House and shoot down the street to the Willard for a reception – which, by the way, is going to be not like a regular reception. We aren't a couple of 20 year olds looking to get drunk with our friends on your dime. We will have finger food and possibly a string quartet playing in the background, but that's it. The last thing I want at 33 is some obnoxious DJ trying to get me to do the Macarena or the Chicken Dance or anything like that."

"But Donna……….." Now it was her cousin Lauren's turn to whine about the fact that she wasn't going to get to shake her ass in front of all of DC.

"Lauren, stop, sorry, but that is what we want and that's what is going to happen. Does everyone understand or have any questions?"

Donna scanned the faces of the group that gathered in front of her. She wanted to laugh when she saw her niece Johanna raise her hand, but she stopped herself – she wanted to maintain as much control as she could for the time being.

"What Johanna?"

"So, like, how does a White House wedding work? I mean, it's a big place. You aren't going to, like, get married in the Oval Office or anything are you?"

Donna had to laugh at that. "Oh dear god, no Johanna. We are still working that out."

"No we aren't. Mom and I figured it out this morning." Donna jumped when she heard that voice from the back of the group. She hadn't even seen Zoey Bartlet join the group.

Zoey made her way through the group to Donna. "Mom and I were just walking around today and we decided that you two should use the Cross Hall. Mom said she would have them start there with the Christmas decorations, so there will the lights and poinsettias and a huge tree in the back of the room. It will look great!"

Donna looked to CJ for agreement and CJ had that 'why didn't I think of that' look on her face. CJ looked at Donna and just shook her head in agreement.

"OK, well, not as hard as we thought. Anyone else have anything to add?"

Everyone just looked at each other and shook their heads.

Donna smiled. "Great. Now, this meeting of Donna-beraters anonymous is adjourned."

Everyone looked stunned as Donna strode off with CJ and Zoey in tow in search of some kind of hard liquor.

Caroline walked into the kitchen in search of water when she saw Danny Concannon with his notebook out, talking with Matt Santos and Jed Bartlet as they peered into a pot on the stove. She started to sweat.

"What in the world is going on here?"

All three men smiled at Caroline. Matt was the first to respond. "What?"

Caroline looked like she had seen a ghost. "Sir, are you… are you doing an interview with Mr. Concannon?"

Danny smiled and got off the bar stool. "Please, call me Danny – Mr. Concannon is my dad."

Caroline was not amused. "Yeah, whatever. Are you doing an interview with the President and the Congressman?" Danny could tell she was not going to be near as fun as CJ used to be.

Matt Santos interjected on Danny's behalf. "Not technically, I guess. Danny thought it would be great to share the Presidential Chili recipe with the rest of the country."

Jed Bartlet looked up from the concoction in the pot. "Hey, I just had an idea."

Caroline meant to just groan in her head but it seemed to come out of her mouth before she could stop herself. Danny just laughed.

"I'm sorry, Caroline, is something wrong."

"No, Mr. President. Your idea…"

"Oh yeah. Don't you think it would be a great PR event if the Congressman and I held a chili cook-off in the Rose Garden? We could make it a fundraiser and charge people per bowl and Danny could write a great article. I could wear the Presidential apron and I could get one for Matt here that says something like "President-in-Training". We could both wear those huge white chef hats. I'm sure CNN would love to cover something like that. You and Toby could hold a joint press conference discussing which chili the people seem to prefer. What do you think?"

All three men turned and looked at Caroline, who was now staring at the like a fish out of water, with her eyes huge and her mouth hanging open.

"You can't be serious, Mr. President."

"I'm absolutely serious. I could then give a lesson on the history of the jalapeno…"

Before Jed Bartlet could finish that statement, Caroline had let out a frustrated scream. Matt couldn't help but laughing. 'She makes it so easy sometimes' he thought to himself.

Matt tried to regain his composure. "Caroline, you alright?"

She just stared at him. After a moment, she turned on her heel and headed out the door she had just entered, but not before almost running into Donna, Zoey and CJ, who were still in search of the good stuff.

"Donna."

"Caroline."

"I quit."

"Yeah, whatever, Caroline."

"No seriously, I quit."

"Well, I don't accept."

With that, Donna blew past Caroline. "Matt!"

Now, Donna was never one to call those in positions of power by their first name, so he knew that something was up. "Yes, Donnatella?"

She crossed her arms and started tapping her foot as CJ and Zoey began to throw open cabinet doors, looking for the liquor. Matt looked at the other two women as the President tapped his youngest daughter on the shoulder.

"Yeah Dad." Zoey said without looking up.

"May I ask what you are doing?"

Zoey finally looked at her dad. "Donna needs the good stuff."

Matt and the President just laughed. No further explanation was needed. Matt looked at Donna, who still had her arms crossed. "Donna, there is a bottle of Maker's Mark on the buffet in the dining room, if that is what you mean by the 'good stuff'." With that, Donna turned on her heel, followed by CJ and Zoey, and headed toward the dining room to claim the bottle. Everyone seemed to have forgotten that Caroline was trying to quit, a fact which wasn't lost on her.

"Did anyone else notice – I quit!"

The President waved her off and began to peer into the pot again. Matt looked at his frazzled Press Secretary. "Sell it somewhere else, Caroline. We ain't buyin!"

With that, the three men started to go back to the original discussion as Caroline grabbed a beer from the fridge and down it before heading back outside.

"So, how are my favorite Republicans doing this evening?" Josh asked as he pulled a chair up at the table where Cliff Calley and Joe Quincy were eating their food.

Joe shook Josh's hand as he sat down. "Not too bad. Quite a party you've got for yourself here."

Josh just looked around and smiled. "Yeah, not too bad at all. How Mrs. Bartlet managed to get everyone together without Donna finding out is beyond me!"

Joe and Cliff laughed. They got quiet for a minute before Cliff finally spoke. "Josh, I just wanted to say congratulations."

Josh looked at his replacement for a moment. "Thanks, Cliff. That means a lot." And to Josh, hearing that from Cliff, it really did. Joe looked between the men, completely unaware of the past they shared. He thought about asking but then decided that he better not.

Joe finally broke the ice. "So, how's the campaign going? You seem to have Vinick on the ropes these days. I think I've actually seen Bruno Gianelli sweating on TV. I didn't know Bruno actually sweated anything. And, it would seem, that Sheila Brooks is flustered by the Santos campaign and believe me, Sheila is not one to fluster easily!"

Josh just laughed. He had thought the same thing a couple of times when he managed to catch Bruno on Meet the Press or Fox News Sunday.

"Things seem to be going well – let's just say I'm cautiously optimistic at this point."

"Oh shit, Lyman, I've been meaning to tell you this" Cliff said.

"What's that?"

"OK, so I was working the hill a couple weeks ago, and I stopped at the Vice President's office to make some calls and return some emails. As I was walking toward the office, one of the secretaries stopped me and asked where I was going. When I told her, she said I might not want to do that and kept on walking. So, of course, I had to know what was up. As I rounded the corner, I heard Will Bailey and the Vice President, I kid you not, cussing each other out. Apparently, Russell has been blaming Will for weeks for the way the convention went down, for Baker, hell, probably for slavery and apparently, it all came to a head that afternoon. Josh, the Vice President fired Will on the spot, for complete lack of ability and competence to do the job he was hired for. I thought Will was going to break his nose. Will told him that he was a joke from day one and would have made the worst President – cause who wants the President to go by 'Bingo Bob' anyway."

"Holy crap!" was all Josh was able to get out before he doubled over in laughter. "Oh god, Calley, please tell me that Toby knows."

"Hey, his reaction was even better than yours!"

"I'll bet!"

Joe was about to say something when Josh noticed that his eyes went wide. Cliff's did the same when Josh looked over at him.

"You two alright?"

Joe was the first to respond. "You can probably help us out with this – there have been these two women who, I'm pretty sure, have been checking us out all night. The brunette's been making eyes at Cliff."

"While the blonde has been eyeing Joe like she's starving and he's a piece of meat!"

'Piece of meat, interesting' Josh thought to himself. 'Wow, it sounds like Cliff was describing…' and with that, Josh started to laugh and turned in his chair.

From his vantage point, Josh could clearly see the two women that his Republican friends had been wondering about.

"You want to meet them?"

Cliff and Joe both shot out of their chairs at the same time.

"OK, I'll take that as a yes."

Josh also stood up and waved over the two women – Stephanie Gault and Ainsley Hayes.

It was like they had been waiting for a sign to come over to the table, cause Josh had barely started to wave them over before they were on either side of him – Stephanie across from Cliff and Ainsley across from Joe.

"Hey Josh" Ainsley said without taking her eyes off her replacement.

"Hey Ainsley. Nice to see you."

"Yeah. Hey, who's your friend?"

'Subtle' he thought to himself. "Well, Ms. Hayes, this is Joe Quincy. Interesting fact – he's your replacement."

She finally looked at him in wonder. "Really? So, they stick you in the Steam Pipe Distribution Venue?"

Joe laughed. "Yeah, I guess that's what passes for an office in the White House!"

"Especially when you are new and a Republican, at least for me."

Josh laughed – he thought that all Republicans could spot each other from a 100 yards. "Actually, Ainsley, as luck would have it, your dad would actually approve of this White House Council."

Ainsley was shocked. "You mean they found another one?"

Joe laughed. "Another what? Do you mean Episcolpalain?"

And that was probably the moment that Ainsley Hayes realized that she found her match.

"Joe, you want to go get another plate of food with me?"

Stephanie chimed in. "God, Ainsley, that's like your third plate."

Joe was impressed, and still quite hungry himself, so he escorted Ainsley back to the buffet.

Josh watched them go. "Remind me to tell Donna to order extra food for the two of them at the reception."

Stephanie laughed. "No kidding – if I ate like her, I'd be as big as a house."

Josh turned to Stephanie, who gave him a hug. "Congrats, by the way. And all I can say is that it's about freakin' time, jackass."

Josh returned her hug. "Would it surprise you to hear that you aren't the first person to say that to me? I think my mom used those same words when we told her."

Stephanie laughed. "Wouldn't surprise me at all!"

As Josh broke the hug, he heard Cliff clear his throat. "My bad, man. Cliff, this is one of Donna's friends from college, Stephanie Gault. Steph, this is Cliff Calley, the man who has HUGE shoes to fill!"

Stephanie and Cliff both laughed at that. "Still as cocky as ever, isn't he?" Stephanie said to Cliff.

"You don't know the half of it – Josh's stories are legendary around the West Wing. I even had one of the temps ask if I knew how to swagger cause that's the only way I'd be able to do the job properly."

Josh smirked while Stephanie laughed. He was glad to know that he's still got some influence over the females in the temp pool.

"Well, it's very nice to meet you Cliff."

Josh noticed they shook hands for a lot longer than was normal and never broke eye contact. He decided that that would be the perfect time to go in search of Donna.

"Steph, I'm going to find Donna, if you want my seat."

"Sure!" She said and was in the chair before either man knew what was going on.

Cliff smiled at Josh, as to say 'thanks, dude' and returned his attention to the brunette sitting in front of him.

Josh grabbed his beer from the table and started to make his way around the patio to the house when he was confronted with Charlie Young and Ryan Pierce.

Ryan slapped Josh on the arm. "What's up dude? Can't believe you are getting married!"

"Thanks, Jimmy Olsen, that means a lot coming from you" Josh said, hoping the sarcasm wasn't lost on the young aide.

"Charlie, you seen Donna?"

"Yeah, that's what we were coming to tell you. Seems that Donna, Zoey and CJ found a bottle of Maker's Mark and, well, let's just say that… well, it's gone."

"Yeah, apparently her family got on her pretty hard about getting hitched here in DC instead of in Idaho."

'Idiot' Josh thought to himself as he watched Ryan ogle Carol, Ginger, and Rena as they danced to the music. "Wisconson, dumbass." He turned his attention to Charlie as Ryan walked to where the women were dancing. "Where are they?"

"Sun porch – I think CJ was about to freestyle 'The Jackal' when I found them."

"Oh hell!" With that, Charlie and Josh took off to gather up the drunk women.

When Josh and Charlie entered the room, they found CJ, standing on the sofa, trying to rap the lyrics to 'The Jackal' as Donna and Zoey danced around to whatever music they heard in their heads.

Josh and Charlie looked at each other. Thank God at that moment, Abbey Bartlet came walking in.

"What in the world…"

CJ smiled and pointed at the First Lady. "Mrssssss Abbey…."

"Oh good god."

Josh and Charlie just nodded their heads in agreement.

The First Lady made her way over to the guys in the corner. "You two gonna try to do something about this?"

Charlie looked perplexed. "Well, Ma'am, if you have any brilliant ideas…"

Abbey Bartlet gave them both a 'boy, are you stupid' look and addressed the women. "Ladies, have any of you had anything to eat yet?"

Donna and Zoey looked at each other, then Zoey looked at her mom. "There's food? Food sounds yummy in my tummy! Hey, that rhymes" and Zoey broke down in hysterical laughter.

Abbey pointed at both men. "I'll take MC Cregg. Charlie, you get Whitman over there, and Josh…"

And all three turned and stared at Donna, who had collapsed on the couch and was now singing 'Here Comes the Bride' very loudly and very, very badly. Mike Casper stuck his head in the room on his way back to the party to see what all the noise was, but quickly made is way out as he saw the First Lady trying to hold up a very drunk Chief of Staff.

Pretty soon, it was just Josh and Donna in the room. Donna had reluctantly given up her glass, only after Josh told her there as no more to drink. He sat down next to her and she curled up next to him.

"My parents are mad at me."

"Why?"

"Cause we aren't getting married in Wisconsin?" He couldn't believe how much sense she was making, but he suspected that CJ had drank a good portion of the bottle.

"Did you explain to them…"

"Yeah, I told them everything we talked about, how it would be easier to do the wedding the way we are doing it. They said they understood, but once again, my parents are disappointed in my decision!"

"Does it matter?"

She looked at him. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, do you want to do this their way or ours?"

"Ours, most definitely ours. I mean, the club is ugly to begin with…"

"OK, then, don't sweat it. Donna, you've been doing things how you want to do them for a very long time. That's what I love most about you – taking charge of things that mean a lot to you. If they love and support you, then they will come around, if they haven't already."

She smiled and gave Josh a very sexy kiss. He didn't really mind the Maker's Mark taste so much.

She finally broke the kiss.

"Joshua?"

"Yes, my Donnatella."

"I'm kinda drunk."

"You want to get something to eat?"

"Would that help?"

"Probably, considering you haven't eaten anything since that bowl of cereal at like 7 this morning."

"Food, then, definitely need food."

Josh helped Donna off the couch and kept her from stumbling, as much as he could, out to a table to get a some food and hopefully, sobered up a little bit.

The gathering went on until well into the night. Slowly, people had started to leave until it was just a core group left – Josh, Donna, CJ, Toby, Sam, Mallory, Danny, Mike, Cliff and Stephanie, Joe and Ainsley, Charlie and Zoey, and Matt and Helen Santos.

Each took turns recounting stories – and not just Josh and Donna stories. Donna told the story about the night of the fire. Josh got to tell everyone about how Donna sews her name in her underwear. Sam told everyone about the year Toby made $125,000 off a stock that he thought was going to be end of him, Mallory and Mike both told stories about Josh from his pre-politics days. CJ even got a little dig on Danny about Gail the goldfish.

By the time Josh and Donna made it home that night (or the next morning, considering it was 2 am by the time they reach their bed) they realized that a DC wedding was the right decision. This was where their life was, this town meant more to them than a job and a presidency – and Wisconsin couldn't hold a candle to that, it couldn't even come close.


	6. A New Day Has Come

**A New Day Has Come**

**Character(s): **The Santos Campaign  
**Pairing(s): **Josh/Donna  
**Category(s): **Romance, Post Season 6  
**Rating: TEEN**  
**Disclaimer: **Not mine, not mine, not mine. Feel free to sue if you like, but it would be a waste of your time since you all have more pocket change than I have in my checking account!  
**Summary: **The Santos' Campaign continues. Series: **A New Day has Come **#6

The Congressman had put on quite a show throughout the fall. He trounced Senator Vinick in both debates. Matt Santos was poised, well-spoken, intelligent, and very youthful looking next to the older man. Helen Santos had become a media darling – stay at home moms were very taken with her. Her episode of Oprah was one of Oprah's most watched shows ever, and since the Senator was a widower, Helen Santos had that group all to herself. By the time Election Day rolled around, it seemed like a no-brainer to the rest of the country, but Josh and Donna were both still nervous. It wasn't over till the networks, basically, said it was over.

Josh and Donna were some of the first people at the polling place that cold November morning. They had a very busy day planned – everyone was going to be everywhere. Matt was scheduled for live feeds on the Today Show, Good Morning America, and Fox and Friends. Helen was doing the View and then immediately returning to DC. Even Josh and Donna were getting in on the action – Josh was scheduled to be on NPR at lunch time and Donna was going to be on CNN starting at 12:25 – she knew exactly because her mother had demanded to know so everyone in Madison could be watching. The rest of the Santos camp were keeping down the fort. Jane and Annabeth were spending the day at the Hilton getting the International Ballroom set up for, what would hopefully be, Matt Santos' celebration. Even Toby was working on the speech the President would give introducing the next President.

The hotel had also given the group a room, free of charge, to watch the results in. They had food catered in and slowly, the group started coming together in the conference room. At first, it had been just Jane and Annabeth. Then came Sandra and Jackson with their laptops to finish the two speeches – Toby had warned them months ago not to risk pissing off the whatever from high atop the thing, so they were working on two speeches. After Josh and Donna had finished calls and interviews, they showed up, along with Ned, Ronna, Caroline, Julia and Adam. Then, at about 6, the 'other' crew started to trickle in – it started with Leo, Mallory, Sam, and Margaret – who CJ had ungraciously given up, but only in the event that the Santos/McGarry ticket pulled off the win. Then came Charlie, Zoey, Ellie, Liz and Doug. At 6:30, the assistants all came in – Debbie, Carol, Ginger, and Rena. Finally, at 6:45, the rest of the current West Wing staff came in – the President, the First Lady, CJ and Toby, Kate, Cliff and Stephanie, and Joe and Ainsley – the last four, surprising some as they walked in, but even they had been blown away by Matt Santos and his platform that all four had voted for him as well. Everyone ate, talked strategy, and kept one eye on the televisions that were scattered around the room.

It was 11:45 when they heard it the first time. Carol started shushing the room and turned up the TV as Brian Williams spoke.

"…And after a long campaign season and well-fought campaign, NBC news is ready to call the election for Texas Congressman Matthew Santos. Congressman Santos served as Mayor of Houston before being elected to…"

No one heard much more as the celebration began. Carol and Donna watched as the rest of the stations started to call the election for the Congressman as well. After CNN, which had been the last to make the call, finally did, Donna started to cry on Carol's shoulders.

"You did it Donna! I don't know how, but you managed to do it!"

The two women hugged and jumped around.

The first person that found Josh was Leo – the two men hugged and Leo even cried a little bit.

"This is your fault, Josh – now what the hell am I supposed to do? What – like you all now expect me do something?"

"You'll do what you always do Leo – make it up as you go along. He's going to need you – more than the President ever need Hoynes or Russell because he had you. I'm not near as smart as you are. I hope you're ready cause your seat at the table is going to be just as prominent as the Congressman's!"

Leo just smiled and gave the younger man another hug before they were both attacked by Sam and Mallory.

"Oh my god! My dad is the next Vice-President. Holy CRAP!"

Josh left Leo, Mallory and Sam in search of his woman. He didn't get two steps before he was grabbed by CJ, who was crying and yelling all at the same time. She could barely get any words out, so Josh just let her cry and yell on his shoulder.

Donna had also started to make her way toward the side of the room that she thought Josh was on when she was grabbed by Caroline.

"Donna! Oh my god, Donna… now what am I going to do? He actually won… I mean we actually won… not that I thought we weren't going to win or anything… Donna, I don't think I am ready for this…"

Donna placed her hands on Caroline's shoulders. "Caroline, relax. Once the dust settles and everything calms down before Inauguration, you are going to have a sit down with CJ. She's already promised me that she would give you the ins and outs of the press and how to do the job. Toby said you could even sit in a few of his briefings if you want so you can get used to the place. You are going to be fine. We are all going to be fine – it's been a good day!"

Caroline smiled and started to cry. Before Donna knew it, she was joined by Ronna, Sandra, and Jane – each of whom were blubbering masses of joy.

Donna was finally able to extract herself from the group and started to cross the room when she met his eyes. He had been headed in her direction. They both had stopped dead in their tracks when they made eye contact. Even from across the room, they were able to communicate their gratefulness toward each other – Donna to Josh for giving her this chance and Josh to Donna for coming back to him when she really had no reason to. He was about to cross the room to her when he was grabbed by Matt and Helen Santos and dragged to the front of the room. The crown had made a semi-circle around the room, anticipating a quick Matt Santos speech before heading to the ballroom.

The room got very quiet as Matt opened his mouth.

"Look, I'm going to make this quick, cause Adam and Jackson both pointed out to me that there are many more people waiting to hear me speak. First, I just wanted to share with you this – I just got off the phone with Senator Vinick. He wanted me to tell you all that you all did an amazing job and worked very hard. I second that sentiment. There's going to be plenty of time for thanks when I hit the stage, but before I go, I wanted to recognize, first, Jed Bartlet."

The crowd turned and looked at the outgoing President flanked by his wife and the ex-Chief of Staff and newly minted Vice President.

"You have been a great friend and mentor over these last few months. I have learned so much from you about how to be a man and the President all at the same time, but I know there is a curve, so be expecting some frantic calls from me."

Everyone laughed as Jed Bartlet just smiled and nodded his head as he shoved his hands in his pockets. It was not very often this man was left without words, but at this moment, at the end of his political career, he had no words to express what he is feeling.

"Secondly, I need everyone to give Josh Lyman a hand – I wouldn't be here without him, none of us would be standing here without him. He's worked hard, put up with my grief and naivety and turned me into a politician. For that, I will be forever grateful."

Josh got a resounding round of applause as he took a short bow. The applause continued and got quite a bit louder as he grabbed Donna and gave her the mother of all kisses in front of the entire group.

As Josh continued the kiss, the Congressman started to head up to the ballroom. He had insisted that everyone, not just his staff, join him on stage while he gave his speech. Matt Santos was a smart man – he knew that the Bartlet staff had a lot to do with why he was about to be the next President and they deserved just as much recognition as the Santos staff. Josh and Donna brought up the rear of the group, walking hand in hand out to the floor to usher in this new administration, this new President, and this new day in the history of the United States of America.

The next three and a half weeks were a blur. 'Thank God for Abbey and Zoey' Donna thought to herself, reading a vetting file one afternoon 'or the plans for this wedding would have gone right down the crapper!'

The resumes and files started flooding into the offices two days after the election. Josh and Donna had managed to steal Ginger and Carol and Larry away from the White House during the weeks leading up to the next Inauguration to help with the vetting process. The DNC had moved them from the small offices in Georgetown to an entire floor in a new building on Pennsylvania Avenue so that they would have enough space to work and read and get this new administration on it's feet before Matt Santos was sworn in.

Obviously, there were going to some holdovers – Josh and Donna had already decided that. Toby was going to go work for Leo in the Vice-President's office, doing what, no one was real sure, but that's where Toby wanted to go. Donna thought that Toby had just decided he'd had enough of the West Wing and the White House for one lifetime. Josh, obviously, was getting ready to start as Chief of Staff and Donna had managed to persuade Ginger to take on the job as his assistant after a long talk between the three of them and Josh signing an agreement of rules and decorum he would be expected to follow. Donna was going to head up the Congressional Liaisons office and her right hand man was going to be none other than Cliff Calley. Josh had hated this idea until Donna convinced him that a Republican on their side, especially in the early days, could do more benefit than any kind of harm. He started to come around once Donna agreed with Josh 'that yes, Cliff did look like a troll'. Only after Josh had had a long talk with Cliff about all the nasty and probably very painful things he had ever thought about doing to Cliff after the whole diary thing was Josh finally comfort with that set up. CJ was going to take a very long vacation, starting the day after the Inauguration and refused to talk any kind of job until she came back, probably after a month or two. Josh had demanded that Charlie stay put in his current position, which made Charlie more than happy.

Helen Santos had pinched Annabeth to be her Chief of Staff and Sandra as her Communications Director. Caroline seemed to finally come around to the idea of Press Secretary after meeting with CJ, spending tons of time with Toby during briefings and even joining Toby in a couple of briefings to discuss the transition and to answer questions about who was going to fill out the Cabinet. Julia and Adam were going to go back to their consulting firm to start working on the next round of elections in 2008. Ronna was going to be Donna's assistant in the Congressional Liaisons office and Ned was going to be Matt Santos' new body man. Debbie had become very loyal to Jed Bartlet, so she was going to run his offices in Manchester and help with the final planning stages of the Bartlet Presidential Library. Jane was going to continue on as President Santos' Executive Assistant. When it came to a DCOS, it was a no-brainer for Josh, which surprised Donna. He wanted Angela Blake. True, he had resented her so much after Carrick and during the shutdown, but he was now, three years later, able to admit to everyone that she was skilled and brilliant and he knew that he needed to surround this President with the best people. She was so flattered when Josh showed up at her offices in New York City that she couldn't refuse him.

But, the final prize for Josh was Samuel Norman Seaborn. Josh thought he would never be able to get Sam to come back to DC, but it turns out that Sam was ready for whatever Josh needed him for, which was to be Communications Director.

Three days before the wedding, Donna was vetting candidates for positions with the Health and Human Services Cabinet. She had met with people for four days straight and this last meeting was to be her last before the wedding. Since the next day was Thanksgiving and all their family would be arriving tonight and tomorrow, Donna was looking forward to anything besides vetting files and endless meeting with people who were trying to impress her.

Ronna popped her head in Donna's office.

"Donna, your last pompous ass is waiting outside."

Donna laughed – seemed Ronna was as tired of these guys as she was. The last one had spent a better part of an hour recounting his drunken college years to Donna and Ronna as they sat in complete boredom.

"Thanks Ronna. You ready?"

"Yeah, and this one looks like a doozy – he's been strutting around the waiting room hitting on me, Ginger, even Mrs. Santos before she put him in his place!"

"Great, yeah, this is going to be fun. Let's get this over with."

Donna had moved the file that she had yet to have a chance to read and her huge vetting notebook. She was about to flip open the file to at least learn this guy's name when she heard Ronna.

"Right this way Dr. Baxter."

'Baxter?' Donna thought to herself. 'Hmmm….'

Ronna came through the door first. "Donna, this is Dr. Troy Baxter…"

And with that, in walked the man himself, Dr. Freeride.

Donna just stared at him for a minute before she reacted – "Absolutely not. Hell no, no way in hell. YOU'RE my last meeting?"

Troy looked at Ronna. "No, I'm supposed to be meeting with a D. Moss. Apparently he was like the Assistant Campaign Manager or something."

Donna wondered if she could surgically implant the vetting notebook up his ass.

"You moron. I'm D. Moss!"

Troy just snickered. "Right D, like I'm going to believe that."

At that moment, she realized why Amy calling Josh 'J' bugged her so much. It was like they thought they were so important that they didn't have remember anyone's full name.

"It's Donna, Dr. Baxter, but feel free to call me Ms. Moss. Please have a seat." She was determined to get through this quickly and professionally.

He just smirked at her and sat down across from her. Ronna took the seat next to Donna and opened the vetting notebook to take notes.

Donna took a deep breathe and looked directly at Troy. "So, Dr. Baxter, you're here for a position in Health and Human Services, correct?"

"Yeah."

'Nice' she thought to herself.

"You live in the DC area?"

"Actually, I live in Maryland with my fiancée, Amanda Hunter. Maybe you recognize her name, since her father is Gregory Hunter, the Senator."

"Thanks. Yeah, I've met Senator Hunter many times."

Troy laughed. "Yeah, sure you have D, sure you have."

Donna couldn't hold her tongue anymore. "That's it. Ronna, interview is finished. Get out."

"Now, now D, maybe you can just find me someone a little more important to talk to. Greg said I'd be a shoo-in for a position in the cabinet."

"Well, GREG isn't running the Santos Transition Office now, is he? Meetings over, get out!"

With that, Donna crossed the room and threw open the door.

He looked at a visibly stunned Ronna. "You'll have to forgive D. She's always thought she was a wee more important than she really is." He crossed to Donna and ran his fingers down her left arm. She thought she might throw up on his shoes.

"D, really, not that the whole jealously thing isn't getting me hot and it's not that you still don't have a killer body, but…"

"Excuse me!"

Troy turned to see the quite angry Josh Lyman, who had just finished his own boring meeting and was looking to share a funny story about that idiot with Donna and Ronna.

Donna looked at Josh over Troy's shoulder. "Its fine Josh, Dr. Baxter was just leaving."

Recognition immediately registered with Troy on who this man was. "Josh? Josh Lyman?"

"Yeah, that's me." Yeah, he wasn't getting any calmer.

"Pleasure to meet you. I'm Dr. Troy Baxter. Greg Hunter said you're the man to see about joining the Santos Administration. I'm marrying his daughter this summer. I've got tons of experience and my credentials…"

Josh started to laugh. "Donna, is this who I think it is?"

"Yeah."

"And you took the meeting?"

"Well, I'd kind of fallen behind on the vetting files and hadn't gotten around to reading his yet."

Troy was confused, but not in the way that he should have been. "I'm sorry – my reputation proceeds me?"

Josh stood toe to toe with this man who stopped for a beer while his Donnatella lay in a hospital. "You bet your ass it does. You stopped for a beer."

"What?"

"Josh, don't. Just let him go."

"I'm sorry – what do you mean, I stopped for a beer?"

"You're Dr. Freeride. You're the idiot who used the love of my life and then stopped for a beer when she needed you."

"Who in the world are you talking about?"

Josh couldn't control himself anymore, but before he had a chance to deck this asshole, Ned grabbed him and pulled him back.

"Josh, really, what's your problem?"

"Men like you. And it's Mr. Lyman. And, just so you know, all Amanda Hunter has ever been interested in is money and power – she'll leave you as soon as she finds someone better."

Troy just huffed at Josh and turned back to Donna. "Look, D, really, just call me when you decide what job you want me to take. And if you are ever interested in… let's just say 'recalling old times…"

Before he had a chance to finish, Josh screamed "JOE!"

Joe Prable, Josh's lead detail came around the corner. "Yeah, Mr. Lyman."

"Throw him out on his ass and put him on your list."

"List, Mr. Lyman?"

"Yeah, you know, the list, the list you put idiots on who piss off the administration. He's on the list!"

Joe wasn't real sure what he meant, but he grabbed the smarmy looking man who was standing entirely to close to Ms. Moss and started to walk him down the hallway.

"Who in the hell do you think you are, Lyman? Greg is going to have a field day with this."

Before Josh could respond, Donna was standing right in front of him, ready for a fight.

"No, you complete moron, Senator Hunter will probably crawl on his hands and knees down here, apologizing for your stupidity because the Senator has a piece of legislation that he wants passed as soon as the Senate comes back into session. And, just so you know, Josh Lyman can do what he wants because he is the next Chief of Staff and I'm going to be his wife come Saturday. Come near anyone working for this administration again and I'll make damn sure that Joe here does more than put you on some list!"

"You little ignorant bitch! When I'm through with you…" but before Troy could get to Donna, Joe and another agent were just about carrying him out of the building and tossed him out on the street. Joe though 'If there isn't a list, I'm going to start one and this SOB will be right at the top'.

Back inside, Josh was trying to calm Donna down while Ronna was standing against the wall, still stunned, not having said a word.

Finally, after Donna had counted to 10 about 200 times, she pulled back from Josh's embrace and looked at Ronna.

"You alright, Ronna?"

"Umm.. yeah, fine… yeah, so… who's Dr. Freeride?"

Josh and Donna just laughed and offered to buy Ronna a drink.

Buzz, buzz, buzz

… 'son of a bitch, what the hell is that noise'

Buzz, buzz, buzz

… 'oh dear god, make it stop'

Buzz, buzz, buzz

Josh dragged himself out from under the covers and slapped the snooze button on the alarm, wondering why today of all days it was so freaking loud.

He was about asleep again when he heard the familiar jingle of his cell phone from the bedside table.

"What in god's name could you possibly want this morning?"

"That's just how a woman loves to be talked to on her wedding day!"

Josh rolled over and realized that he was alone.

"Why aren't you here?"

"Joshua, Joshua, Joshua. Remember – wedding, Zoey insisting on a sleepover, which turned out to be a mistake since all Lauren wanted to do was sneak into the Lincoln bedroom."

Suddenly, Josh shot up and realized that he was getting married this afternoon at 2 PM sharp. But, moving that fast made his head spin and he had to lie back down.

"Oh dear god… why is the room spinning?"

"Son of a bitch!" Then he heard Donna yelling. "CLAUDIA, ZOEY! Find Samuel and Charles RIGHT NOW and put their asses in a chair in this hallway. I'm going to gut them!"

"Donna, please, the yelling!"

"Assholes! How much did they give you to drink?"

The night was quickly coming back to him. Josh, Toby, Charlie, Sam, Cliff, Joe and Ned had decided to get drinks after a quick rehearsal while the girls did their sleepover thing. They were sitting at a table, eating really greasy food and sharing a bucket of beers when in strolled…

Josh started laughing. Donna was not amused.

"I'm SOOO glad you find this so damn funny! Which one do I have to kill?"

"Donnatella that would be your dad."

"I'm sorry – my dad."

"Yeah, he and your uncle Ted came into the bar we were at and I remember something about real Moss men drink whiskey…"

"MOTHER!" and that's the last thing Josh heard before Donna hung up on him. He chuckled as he made his way to the shower – poor Michael Moss was in for an ass-reaming this morning.

Josh was pacing the bullpen as Toby, Sam and Charlie watched him amused.

"Can't we go over there yet?"

Toby threw his rubber ball at Josh. "No, schmuck, Ellie said she would call when they were ready for us."

It was 1:30 according to the new watch that Donna had bought Josh as a wedding present, so he knew the time was right. Josh was about to make a break for it when he saw Jed Bartlet coming down the hall.

The three men seated stood up and the soon-to-be-ex-President rounded the corner.

"Afternoon, gentlemen."

"Mr. President." They all four said in unison.

He just sighed – hopefully one day they would all call him Jed, but he knew there was no use fighting with them now. Hell, he'd just gotten Leo trained, and he had been working on that since the Convention.

"Now, you four don't look near as sorry as Abbey thought you would."

The four of them looked at each other. Instead of tuxedos, Donna had opted for the four of them buying navy blue suits. Sam, Toby, and Charlie had on navy ties to match the suit while Josh wore a silver tie – the same color as the bridesmaids' dress that CJ, Kendra and Lauren were wearing.

Josh was wringing his hands together while he paced and the President noticed.

"Nervous, Joshua?"

"More like anxious sir. I'm very ready to get this show on the road and marry that woman."

"Well, let me tell you Joshua, she looks gorgeous and I am here to retrieve the four of you. Everyone ready to go?"

Josh started to jog toward the Cross Hall before the other three had a chance to start walking. Sam just laughed.

"Never thought I'd see the day where Joshua Lyman was running TOWARD a wedding!" Toby, Charlie and Jed Bartlet just chuckled and nodded their heads in agreement.

Josh was standing at the end of the makeshift aisle, awaiting his bride. Behind him stood Sam, Toby and Charlie. Chief Justice Lang, who insisted on doing the ceremony the moment she found out they were getting married, was off to Josh's right. The violinist started playing the music as Kendra, Lauren, and CJ made their way down the aisle. Josh held his breath as the music changed and he saw the soon to be Donnatella Lyman walking down the aisle with her father.

You could have knocked him over with a feather! He stood there taking her in – she was wearing a strapless fitted white gown that just barely touched the floor. Her veil hung halfway down her back and he wasn't sure, but he thought that the jewelry she had on was on loan from the jewelry box of Mrs. Abigail Bartlet.

She was lucky that her dad was next to her, holding her up, because she just loved Josh in a navy suit. That's why she had suggested it. Yeah, the other three didn't look half bad, but Josh… he looked youthful and energetic and very happy.

Her dad gave her a light kiss on the cheek and passed her off to Josh. He smiled at her and she returned the favor. As they walked the few steps to Justice Lang, he knew he had to say something.

He leaned over and whispered in her ear "You hung up on me this morning."

She giggled. "Yeah, sorry about that, but Daddy totally had it coming! I've never actually seen my dad look that guilty about anything in my life."

He smiled at her with that dimple smile and then turned his attention to Justice Lang.

"Friends, family – we are gathered here today…."

"Josh and Donna have opted for their own vows this afternoon. Josh."

Josh cleared his throat as the room started to laugh. "And before anyone asks, no Sam and Toby didn't write my vows for me." That made others laugh that much hard, but Josh was all business as he looked into Donna's eyes.

"My dear Donnatella. My life changed all those years ago in Manchester. When you hired yourself, I had no idea that you would take over my life in such a great way. Before that day, I never saw this for myself. I had big plans, I was going to be a player in DC, I was going to make waves and storm the place. Granted, I still made waves – not quite in the way that some would have hoped…"

"No kidding!" Leo piped up from his seat between to Lydia Lyman and Jed Bartlet.

"…Thanks Leo. Donnatella, I wouldn't be half the man I am today if you hadn't walked into my life all those years ago. I know I wouldn't have survived after Rosslyn if you hadn't been just outside the door when I woke up. You saved me at Christmas and during the shutdown and every time I screwed up in-between. You are my angel, dear Donnatella, and for you, I will be forever grateful. I see a different life through your eyes, now. I see little kids with unruly blonde hair, a dangerous pout and a cocky swagger. I see a life, and I only see that because you came to me all those years ago. I will forever love you, Donnatella."

Josh looked into her bright blue eyes that were full of tears of joy. She had no idea how she was going to get through what she wanted to say, but she knew she had to!

Donna took a deep breath and held on tighter to his hands to give her strength.

"Joshua. When I was a kid, I had this ideal in my head of the man who would be my husband. He would swoop in out of nowhere and sweep him off my feet. He would pamper me daily and do my bidding. He would love me unconditionally regardless of what I did or how I looked. He would romance me and shower me daily with his love and affection. That was a fantasy, a dream, the musing of a 13 year old girl. Our relationship may have been the furthest thing from that fantasy. That day in Manchester, the day we met, showed me that reality is far better than any fantasy I could have ever had as a kid. I wouldn't trade any of my memories of me, of you, of us for anything. I also see a life with you, with kids who I can tell funny stories of our days in the White House. I want to tell our kids about how Daddy tried to burn down the White House or about how Daddy conducted a meeting wearing yellow rubber overalls and smelling like a dumpster. It turns out that you are the man of my dreams, the man that I am meant to share my life with – the musings of a 13 year old girl can't even compare to the love I feel for you today. You do have one thing in common with that faceless man – you love me unconditionally – whether I'm in a ball gown standing in the snow or a hospital bed halfway around the world. You see me as beautiful no matter what I do or how I look. You are the love of my life, Joshua, and for you, I will also be forever grateful."

By the time Donna had finished, everyone, including Toby, was sniffling. Justice Lang had to take several deep breaths before she asked for the rings.

"… and I now pronounce you husband and wife. Joshua, you may kiss…"

Justice Lang didn't even finish the sentence before Josh had grabbed Donna and bent her over his arm and started the full-on assault of her mouth. Everyone clapped and cheered and Kenny yelled "It's about damn time" for Joey from the back of the room. They only broke the kiss when Sam forcefully pounded on Josh's shoulder, reminding of them of where they were.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, I am pleased and proud to present to you for the first time, FINALLY… Mr. and Mrs. Joshua Lyman!"

And to everyone's surprise, Josh lifted Donna into his arms and carried her down the aisle and through the hall till they found a small room where Josh could show Donna just how beautiful he thought she looked. CJ had to pry them apart before things went too far or they would completely miss their reception, not to mention do something she wanted to make sure she NEVER witnessed!

The reception was an hour old when Ron Butterfield approached CJ – who was cutting a rug with Sam on the dance floor. CJ and the Moss' had been able to compromise with Donna and a live band was hired for the reception. As they broke into the beginning strands of "A Crazy Little Thing Called Love", Ron tapped her on the shoulder.

"CJ."

"Ron, my dear man, how about a dance?"

He just laughed. "I'm kind of working Claudia. Actually, something's up."

"About the President?"

"Umm… No, Josh and Donna."

CJ grabbed Ron and Sam and took off to a corner of the room. She motioned for Toby as she found a secluded spot.

The three of them huddled around Ron as he spoke.

"Well… it would seem that there is a crasher outside. Joe's got a hold of her right now, but she seems hell bent on getting in here."

Sam narrowed his eyes and hissed – "Who?"

Ron gave a small smile. "Amy Gardner."

CJ exploded – it was a good thing that Josh and Donna were too wrapped up in each other to notice CJ's face turn bright red.

"I've about had it with her. I'm going to take care of this once and for all. Tim, let's go!"

Tim, the Chief of Staff's lead agent, followed CJ with little hesitation. He knew she could be a little scary at times and he felt sorry for the person who this wrath was going to be focused at. As he rounded the corner of the lobby with CJ, he saw Joe Prable holding back a scary woman in her own right. It had started to rain while they were inside and she looked quite a like a drowned rat – her clothes clinging to her tighter (which Tim was unsure how that was possible, but it was) and her makeup running down her face and hair matted to her head.

CJ stood toe to toe with this woman. "I don't know what you think you are doing, but it's over now."

Amy was pissed. "Will you tell this overgrown monkey to let me go? Josh is making a mistake and he needs to know it. You of all people should recognize that!"

"That's it. The only thing I know is that I regret not pushing them together sooner. You were the mistake he made, not her. Come near them again and you will have to deal with me."

Amy managed to wriggle free from Joe's grasp and started to run toward the ballroom, but CJ managed to grab her left arm and whip her around so that she had a firm grasp on Amy. "That's it – we need to talk."

Donna and Josh never knew that Amy had appeared. When CJ arrived back at the reception 20 minutes later, she had a Cheshire smile on her face and told Toby to buy her a drink to celebrate. Amy never bugged the Lymans again.

Inauguration Day was a clear day and eerily warm for DC in January – the high temperature topped out a 45 degrees with no clouds in the sky as Matt Santos took the oath of office standing in front of the world.

His speech was inspired. Toby, Sam, Jackson, and Sandra had done a fantastic job. It was very reminiscent of early Bartlet speeches.

The Bartlets didn't hang around long. They seemed ready to move on and by 8:30 that night were on their last ride back to Manchester. The majority of their possessions had already been moved and set up, thanks to Debbie and her knack for organization, so when they walked through the doors that night, it felt like home.

CJ kept flashing her ticket around to everyone that night. She was on the 5:30 flight to Rome to wander around Europe and wherever else for as long as she damn well pleased. Toby also had some tickets of his own, but was less apt to flash them around. It wasn't until CJ grabbed them from his pocket did everyone know that Toby was spending the next week and a half with this twins at the 'Happiest Place on Earth'.

Josh and Donna dropped into bed just as the sun was starting to come up. They had danced, drank, schmoozed, been apologized to over and over again by Senator Hunter for his 'idiot soon-to-be-son-in-law's behavior' that afternoon in November. They celebrated together, as a team, a couple, the next generation of West Wing staff. They had done this kind of thing more times than they could remember, but now, it was on their terms, on their time, and they were going to make sure that everyone knew it.

The End – but stay tuned for the epilogue!


	7. Walk of Life Epilogue

**Walk of Life**

**Character(s): **Josh, Donna, and a mix of current characters and future kiddos  
**Pairing(s): **Josh/Donna  
**Category(s): **Romance, Post Season 6  
**Rating: TEEN**  
**Disclaimer: **Not mine, not mine, not mine. Feel free to sue if you like, but it would be a waste of your time since you all have more pocket change than I have in my checking account!  
**Summary: **Epilogue – **A New Day Has Come**

**Author's Note:** FAIR WARNING – EXPLANATIONS OF CHARACTER'S DEATHS INCLUDED IN THE FOLLOWING STORY!

* * *

**Early June 2030**

_Buzz, buzz, buzz_

No movement came from the bedroom.

_Buzz, buzz, buzz_

"D, I'm begging, turn off that damn alarm before I break it and you have to tell your parents why they have to buy you yet another alarm!"

"Fine, but I'm just hitting snooze. Next time it goes off, you deal with it!"

She hit the alarm and turned back over in her bed and was just about back asleep when the bedroom door was thrown open.

"What in the world are you two doing?"

Deidre Joan Lyman and Joanna Rose Seaborn shot up at the sound of Donna Lyman.

"Oh my god, Mom, what is your problem? We were up late and now we are sleeping!"

"Exactly, dear child, why in the world are you two still asleep?"

Joanna had already turned over and was struggling to get comfortable on the air mattress while Deidre laid back down and pulled the covers over her head.

"God, mom, seriously, what time is it even?"

"7:45."

"AM?" Both girls asked as Donna did her best to stifle of chuckle.

"Yes, that would be AM."

Deidre huffed. "Mom, it's Saturday, we are sleeping, go away."

"That's fine, but yeah, remember, you mentioned it was Saturday and…"

Both girls screamed as it hit them – "GRADUATION!"

Donna couldn't help but laugh as she watched the best friends both shoot out of bed and start running around the room looking for dresses and makeup and the things that teenage girls needed.

"Yeah, glad to see you two remembered that. You know, we all tried to warn you two that this whole sleepover thing the night before graduation wasn't the greatest idea, but you two insisted…"

Deidre waved her hand at her mom as she walked past her to use her parent's shower since Joanna had managed to beat her to hers. "Yeah, yeah, whatever Mom."

'Wonder where she picked that up from' Donna wondered to herself as she walked back down the stairs.

Donna walked back onto the sun porch to rejoin Josh, Sam, and Mallory as the girls got ready. She noticed Josh laughing.

"Something funny, Mr. Lyman?"

"You know, I tried to tell them at like 1 to go to sleep, but they were hard at work on something. You can't seem to tell that girl anything, why in God's name was she still working on whatever it was at 1AM!"

"Yeah, that apple didn't fall far from the tree."

"Yeah, I mean… no… wait… what did you say, Donnatella?"

Donna just giggled as Sam and Mallory laughed into their coffee.

* * *

Deidre and Joanna had been born about two weeks apart in October 2012. Joanna was Sam and Mallory's first while Deidre was the soon to be younger sister of the already spunky Noah William Lyman. Noah had just turned 4 when Deidre and Joanna were born, so it was like he got two sisters to pick on for the price of one. 

The two families lived near each other as long as the kids could remember. They had always lived in Arlington and were currently residing in houses that were across the street from each other.

Deidre and Joanna had played together and were always in the same classes – their four years at Washington-Lee High School were no different. They both took the same classes, too the same AP tests and were both getting ready to be roommates in the fall at Duke University – much to Sam's pleasure and Josh's dismay.

Josh took a quick glance at his watch before he knocked on the door to his daughter's room. Most of her friends referred to it as 'Deidre's suite' since she had her own bathroom and a sitting area along with the normal bedroom stuff. When they had moved into this house 8 years ago, Noah had claimed the very large basement bedroom as his own and Deidre was very upset. Rather than fight the kids, they decided to renovate the third floor attic area into a bedroom for their daughter, which is why she seemed to have a larger room than most of her friends.

* * *

Josh noticed that it was 9:15 – graduation was going to start at 11, but the students needed to be there by 10 for pictures and all the other stuff that goes along with graduation. He knew they needed to leave in about 10 minutes if they were going to get there on time. 

"DJ, you two about ready?"

Deidre rolled her eyes as Joanna giggled. Her dad was the only one allowed to call her DJ.

"You can come in Dad!"

Josh opened the door and watched the two girls finish primping. Joanna was the spitting image of her father – dark skin, green eyes and long black hair. She was even tall and slim like Sam still was these days. Deidre was an amalgam of him and Donna – Deidre had inherited Donna straight hair, but it was the reddish-brown coloring that he had had in his youth. She had his brown eyes, but Donna's alabaster skin. She had inherited Donna's knack for useless knowledge and organization, but had also inherited his ability to shoot off at the mouth before thinking about the words that were coming out – this got Josh and Donna more than one parent-teacher conference during the last 18 years, especially when she told the teachers that they were wrong about this or that – yet another trait that she had picked up from her father.

He just smiled as the girls traded hair spray, curling irons, lipstick and words. He finally had to interrupt them if they were ever going to get moving.

"Really, girls, or you are going to miss your own graduation!"

Both girls turned and posed for him.

"Beautiful. Now let's move. Joanna, your parents are across the street with your brother."

She sighed and stalked across the room. "Josh, you know that Leo is going to do something to completely embarrass me today, right!"

He just laughed. "Yeah, but that's what little brothers do best, so you better just get yourself prepared."

She let out a strangled cry as she walked down the stairs and across the street.

Josh looked out the window at the family across the street. Leo Matthew Seaborn had been named after his grandfather. He was born 4 years after the girls had been and two years after his grandfather died from liver disease. 'It's a shame you never got to see this kid, old man' Josh thought to himself as he watched Leo chase Joanna around with a handful of mud as Sam tried to catch him 'he sure does give Sam a run for his money – you'd be proud!'.

"Is Noah here yet?"

Josh turned to face his daughter, who seemed to be all ready to go. "He got here after you two locked yourself in here last night. By the way, what in the world have you been working on?"

Deidre gave her dad what Donna called the 'patented Lyman smirk' – "you'll see later".

"Oh lord, that's never a good sign!" He said, smiling, as the two of them went outside to join Donna and Noah in the car.

* * *

It turned out to be a decent day to sit outside on stadium bleachers at graduation. Their group had gotten quite large. Along with Josh, Donna, Noah, Sam, Mallory and Leo was CJ and Alex – the man she had met on her cruise right after the first Santos Inauguration. They had never gotten married, but had been together since they met. CJ was alright with that – she would rather be able to spoil her friend's children than have to deal with her own. 

Toby had come from New York with Huck, who was spending the summer interning at Gage Whitney – Sam still knew some people up there and had gotten the internship for him. Molly was currently working as a producer on some independent film that was currently filming in Vancouver and couldn't make the trip.

Ainsley and Joe had also joined them at graduation. They had started their own practice, together, after Santos left office – Hayes and Quincy had quickly become one of the most prestigious firms in DC – Republicans from all over the city and country looked to them for help and advice when it came to politics. Cliff and Stephanie had been invited, but their divorce had been very bitter and they were currently living on opposite sides of the country – Stephanie in New York, Cliff in Sacramento – and they barely talked anymore. No one had expected them to come, but the invitation to events like this were always extended.

Charlie and Zoey Young were also with the group. By the time the girls had been born, Lyman, Cregg, and Lyman Consulting was in full operational swing. After the Santos Administration had ended, Josh and Donna were tired of that kind of political work, so, with CJ wanting to try something different than the PR she was currently doing, they decided to open a consulting firm. What had started as a small operation out of Josh's old townhouse in Georgetown had turned into a huge operation. Political wanna-bes from all over the country were hiring LCL Consultants to help run their political campaigns. Charlie and Zoey had been happily living life – Charlie had just taken a job with the White House council's office and Zoey had been working her up through the Women's Leadership Coalition when it happened.

It was a cold and nasty night in New Hampshire that February – four months before Charlie and Zoey were to be married. Jed and Abbey Bartlet had been on their way back from a DNC fundraiser in Manchester when a teenage boy named Zach Harris hit a patch of ice and slammed right into the side of the black Suburban. The Bartlets, along with the two Secret Service Agents, were killed instantly. It turned out that Zach and his friends had been snorting cocaine and were on their way to buy more when they ran into the former President and First Lady. This came in year 7 of the Santos Administration – Noah was only three and Donna had yet to find out she was pregnant with Deidre – just as they were looking to pass a national 'three-strikes' bill about those who were driving under the influence. This story became much more than the death of a former President and First Lady. Zoey was the only Bartlet daughter still in the DC area, so all the media frenzy came down on her shoulders. Zoey became withdrawn and quit her job with the WLC to stay at home. They all had to deal with the unending questions, the unending clips of the funeral, the MS press conference, Rosslyn, Jed Bartlet being carried off the Air Force One by his Secret Service Agent. The passing of these two people brought up more than most of them could deal with – they tried not to talk about the accident much at all. It had gotten much easier as the years passed, which is why none of the current kids knew much of the Bartlet years.

Zoey and Charlie ended up eloping the summer after the Bartlets died. Zoey spent most of her time staying at home, taking care of their kids. She stayed withdrawn for so long that people quit recognizing her after a few years. Since she went by Zoey Young, no one really made much of a fuss over her anymore.

* * *

Josh seemed to be seemed to be struggling with the digital camcorder when Donna came back from seeing the girls backstage. All Josh had been able to decipher was something about fly-away hair. Josh had learned a long time ago not to try to decipher anything when it came to his daughter and her best friend. 

"I told you to wait for me to get back before you tried to mess with that thing."

"Donna really, it's an inanimate object and I'm a Fulbright Scholar – I can beat this thing."

"Yeah, I don't think our computer has yet to buy into that train of thought, but go ahead and give it a shot on the camcorder."

"Are you going to shut up and help me with this thing or what?"

"What's the matter, Fulbright Scholar, the machine too smart for you!"

"Shut up. C'mon Donna, now it's beeping at me."

"Did you charge it last night like I told you to?"

"Ummm…. I meant to, but the Mets were on satellite last night and then I found some idiot Republican…"

"HEY!" came a shout from Ainsley and Joe.

"…sorry, but there was some idiot Republican on TV spouting off idiot ideas and I got to yelling…"

"So, Joshua, what you are telling me is that the battery is dead on the camcorder and now we are not going to be able to record this moment for posterity!" Donna did her best to sound mad, but she knew this man too well. 'Let him squirm for a minute before I get the backup out of my purse'.

"Oh god."

"How are you going to explain this to our baby girl? She is going to be crushed."

Josh felt sick. "Ok, let's see, if I drive really fast… the speakers will be first… who needs to hear the valedictorian speech anyway…" Josh checked his watch "I should be able to get back here before they get to the L's…"

"OK, easy there. I was just giving you shit." With that, Donna produced the backup battery from her back and replaced it with the dead battery.

"You are an evil woman, Donnatella Moss."

She giggled. No matter how long they were married, she still loved it when Josh called her by her full, original name. "And that's why you love me, Joshua."

"You bet your ass." He gave her a quick kiss before adjusting the focus on the camcorder.

* * *

"… Deidre Joan Lyman…" 

Everyone in their section stood up and cheered. Deidre took a little bow and waved to her dad behind the camcorder as she made her way off stage.

* * *

"… Joanna Rose Seaborn…" 

The entire group stood again to cheer for the other girl, but the cheering turned to laughter as Joanna's faced turned bright red. Her classmates also started to laugh as they all witnessed Joanna's brother mooning the entire class.

Deidre and Joanna stayed up that night, finishing up the surprise for Deidre's parents.

* * *

_Flashback:_

It had started out as a class project for Political Affairs, one of the electives the girls had chosen to take during the spring term their senior year. The teacher, Mr. Kendrick, was relatively new to the school and to the DC area, but he was very popular with the kids. Only the best and smartest students were allowed to take this class and there was only room for 30 kids. It was a discussion class with a semester long project that would make up their only grade in the class.

When the class started after Christmas, Mr. Kendrick told the students their project for the semester – they were to do an in-depth research project about a President and his administration during the last 50 years.

"Score!" Joanna and Deidre both yelled out that day in class. This was going to be cake, they both thought as they smiled at each other. They knew that both of their fathers were close with ex-President Santos.

Mr. Kendrick just smiled. "Not so fast you two – I'm completely aware of who you are and, more importantly, who your parents are. I'm assigning the projects. The Santos Administration will be covered by John and Adam" he said pointing to two boys at the back of the class.

"Hey, can we interview your dads?"

"Shut up!" Deidre yelled at them.

"Deidre, Joanna, take the Bartlet Administration." Mr. Kendrick, not being from around here and a staunch Republican, really had no idea the can of worms he was opening.

0

It had started out as a Google search in the school library one afternoon. The girls had tried to get Mr. Kendrick to let them trade with John and Adam, but Mr. Kendrick wasn't going to have these two girls get a free pass just because their parents had been political operatives at one point.

Deidre had been getting books off the shelves about the Bartlet Administration when she heard Joanna scream her name across the library.

"Shhhh!" the librarian said as Deidre ran back to the computer lab.

"Jesus, Joanna, what? Are you on fire on something?"

Joanna just stared at the computer screen wide-eyed and speechless, which was amazing for Joanna Seaborn. She may look just like her father, but she talks more than her mother ever did!

"Joanna, what's wrong?"

Joanna just stared at her best friend. "I... um… well… I found the Bartlet Presidential Library website… I clicked on the photo album section… umm…"

"God, Joanna, would you just spit it out!"

Without saying anything, Joanna turned the computer screen so that her friend could see what she had come upon. Deidre now understood why Joanna was speechless. She was staring at a picture of a very young Josh Lyman and Donna Moss on either side of an older man, who had his arms around each of their shoulders.

"Those… those… those are my parents?"

"Yeah – I mean, your mom's maiden name is Moss, right?"

"Ye… Ye… Yeah. Wait… what website is this?"

"BarletPresidentialLibrary.gov"

"So, that would mean the man in the middle is…"

"Yeah, it seems your parents knew this President Bartlet. By the way, do you have any idea what a Stackhouse Filibuster is?"

"No, why?"

"Well, it seems this picture was taken the night of the Stackhouse Filibuster, whatever that is."

"Are…are…are there any other pictures?" Deidre was shocked she could still get words out.

Joanna returned to looking at the computer screen. "Umm… yeah, there are tons. They are separated by topic. Which one should I click on?"

Deidre looked at the list. "Umm… I guess… oh I don't… the first campaign?"

Joanna clicked on the link and they both screamed this time. "HOLY SHIT!"

"SHHHHHHH! And no cursing at school." The librarian said again from behind her desk.

Joanna and Deidre didn't even here her. Deidre collapsed into the chair next to her friend as they both stared at the picture. Joanna finally was able to form a sentence.

She leaned over and whispered to her friend "what in the world is going on here?"

Deidre just shrugged her shoulders and they both stared at the picture with the caption "Bartlet Campaign Spring 1998, Chicago." Standing in front of a huge 'Bartlet for America' banner was Josh Lyman, Donna Moss, Leo McGarry, Jed Bartlet, CJ Cregg, Toby Ziegler, and Sam Seaborn. There were a few other people in the picture they didn't recognize – an older blonde lady with glasses, a tall redhead, and a young woman with long black hair.

"Deidre, what in the world…"

"Joanna, I have no idea, but we have got to figure this out!"

0

That night, Deidre and Joanna stayed locked in Deidre's room. They had run up there as soon as they got home from school and hadn't come out. Josh tried to get them to come out and eat dinner, but all he got was a "go away". At 11, after her parents had gone to bed, Joanna and Deidre were no closer to any answers.

Joanna had been working on her laptop this whole time, reading everything she could find on the Bartlet website when she started to cry.

Deidre shot across the room. "Joanna, what?"

"Oh god! D, your dad… Josh… he got shot." – the last part was barely a whisper and if there had been any other noise in the house, Deidre wouldn't have even heard her.

"Joanna, what? What in the world do you mean my dad…" but Deidre never got a chance to finish that sentence as Joanna turned the computer. Deidre came face to face with a scanned page of the Washington Post from August 1999 – "Presidential Assassination Attempt at Rosslyn".

Joanna continued. "Turns out these skinheads were made that Charlie and Zoey were dating and they were trying to kill Charlie but got your dad and the President instead. The President just had a minor injury but your dad… it says he was in surgery for like 14 hours."

Deidre fell on the floor. "That explains so much."

Joanna was intrigued. "What?"

"I remember, one summer, before she got sick, we were visiting Grandma Lyman. We were on the beach and Noah and I were playing in the water and I wanted Dad to come in but he wouldn't. He kept his t-shirt on the whole time we were on the beach. I remember asking Grandma Lyman about why daddy wouldn't take his shirt off and she just told me that 'he had been hurt by some really awful people' and that he didn't like to talk about it. That was the only time I ever asked. Oh god! Joanna, what about Mom?"

"What do you mean?"

"Was she shot? She's got scars and stuff on her legs – was she shot too?"

Joanna returned to the computer and searched the site for Donna Moss. What she found sent her into another crying fit. This time, Deidre didn't even ask, she just started to read.

'Explosion in Gaza – by Danny Concannon'

'Yesterday, the CODEL to Gaza was attacked. The car carrying Chairman Fitzwallace and Congressman DeSantos was exploded as they left the checkpoint. The only survivor from the car was White House Staffer Donnatella Moss, executive assistant to Deputy Chief of Staff Josh Lyman…'

"God, Joanna, what in the world have our parents been through?"

0

Before school started the next day, Deidre grabbed Joanna and pulled her into a bathroom. After checking the stalls, she turned to her friend.

"Give me your cell phone."

Joanna knew better than to question Deidre when she had that determined look on her face, so she handed over her phone. Deidre pulled a piece of paper out of her pocket with a number on it and dialed the number.

"Who are you calling?"

"Someone who will hopefully give us some answers."

Deidre stood there for a moment before the receptionist picked up the phone. "Hayes and Quincy

"Ainsley Hayes, please."

"Please hold."

Deidre looked into Joanna's questioning eyes, but she just shook her head as Ainsley's secretary answered the phone.

"Ainsley Hayes' office – this is Miranda, can I help you?"

"Miranda, it's Deidre Lyman. Is Ainsley there?"

"Sorry, sweetie, she's on the hill all morning. Can I leave her a message?"

Suddenly, an idea struck Deidre. Joanna recognized that look on her face and immediately started feeling dread. That face always meant that they were bound for a parent-teacher conference. "Deidre…"

Deidre shushed Joanna and returned to her call.

"Actually, Miranda, what does her schedule look like for Friday?"

Deidre heard Miranda flip some pages. "Friday seems pretty light. Why?"

"I want to make an appointment – can you schedule us for her lunch time – like from 11 to 1 or so."

Miranda also knew better than to question a Lyman. She would just let Ainsley deal with the girl. "Sure thing. You are down! It is just you?"

"Me and Joanna Seaborn."

'What are those two up to now' Miranda thought to herself as she wrote down the appointment. "Got it – you and Joanna."

"Thanks Miranda." Deidre snapped the phone shut.

Joanna was stunned. "So, what, we are just going to skip school on Friday and hope our parents don't find out?"

Deidre slapped Joanna upside the head – something she had seen her mom do to her dad lots of times.

"No, stupid, remember – Friday is an in-service day – no school."

"Oh yeah, but… how in the world are we going to get downtown on a Friday?"

"Noah will be here Thursday night. He's got some interviews for an internship this summer downtown – I'll make him take us. Don't worry about it."

"Yeah, and every time you say don't worry about it, I end up in detention."

Deidre just laughed and pulled her friend out of the bathroom and to their first class.

0

Noah dropped them off in front of the offices of Hayes and Quincy at 10:45 Friday morning.

"I'm not going to lie for you, Deidre, so whatever you are up to…"

"Noah, chill. It's nothing."

"Fine, but I won't be done until like 2:30. I am begging you, please stay here till I get back."

"God, Noah, it's like you don't trust me or something!"

"Yeah, wonder why that is. Just, don't do anything stupid till I get back."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Get out of here!"

With that, Noah took off. The two girls walked through the door and up to the reception area.

"Diedre Lyman and Joanna Seaborn to see Ainsley Hayes."

"Go on up. Ms. Hayes is expecting you."

The elevator doors opened to an expectant Ainsley Hayes.

"Color me surprised when I saw my appointment book for this today and saw that you two were my lunch meeting."

The girls just smiled with Ainsley looked concerned. "Please tell me you aren't here because you need representation for something."

They heard Miranda laugh from across the room.

"Good God, Ainsley, no – we just… well, we needed to talk to someone and our parents and CJ and Toby are out so we just thought…"

Ainsley still looked concerned. "What's wrong?"

The girls looked at each other and Deidre spoke again. "OK, see, Mr. Kendrick, our Political Affairs teacher… well, he gave us our project for the semester… it's an in-depth analysis of a President and his Administration… well, we thought that we could sweet talk our way into the Santos Administration but Mr. Kendrick is such a butthead…"

"Deidre!"

"Sorry, Ainsley, but he is! Anyway, he gave out the assignments and he gave the two of us the Bartlet Administration…"

The color drained out of Ainsley's face. She was actually surprised that it took one of the kids this long to find out. Ainsley turned to Miranda.

"Is the conference room free?"

"All day."

"Great. The three of us will be in there. Also, can you order us some sandwiches from the deli down the street."

"Sure, Ainsley."

Ainsley directed the girls to the conference room to try to explain.

Once the girls explained what they had found and how much they already knew, Ainsley filled in the rest for them. She thought that maybe she was delving into a family issue, but she knew the girls would get their information from somewhere. She decided that it would be better if they got their information from someone who loved these people as much as these two girls did.

At 1:45, Ainsley asked Miranda to cancel the rest of her day and to see if Joe was free. The girls had so many questions that they had just gotten up to Zoey's kidnapping and she knew she was going to need some help. As soon as Miranda explained to Joe what was going on and who Ainsley was meeting with, he immediately had his secretary cancel the rest of his day and joined Ainsley in the conference room. He held their hands as Ainsley explained about the CODEL and Donna spending months in the hospital in Germany. By 2:45, Noah had walked into the conference room just as Ainsley had finished up about the car accident that killed the Bartlets and the effect it had on all of them.

Noah saw that his sister had been crying and that Joanna was pensively looking at pages upon pages of notes that she had taken during the afternoon.

"Deidre, you alright?"

Deidre shot out of her chair and latched on to her older brother.

"Did you know… do you know… Mom and Dad and President Bartlet… did you know?"

"You mean Santos, D, President Santos, right?"

"No, I mean Josiah Bartlet… you don't know!"

"Know what? Deidre…"

Joanna got out of her chair. "Look, I think we need to go home. Noah, we will tell you everything on the way home and probably more once we get there."

Ainsley could see Sam shining through this young girl – keeping her head and trying to take control when she saw that others weren't going to be able to. Ainsley and Joe gave both girls a hug and a kiss and told them that if they had any other questions, to call either one of them. Noah kept his arm around his sister as they walked out to the car and headed home.

Noah was just as shocked as his sister and best friend had been once he had been filled in on all the information they had gathered during the afternoon, but he swore that he wouldn't tell Mom or Dad or Sam or Mallory what he knew until Deidre told him it was alright.

* * *

_Present Day:_

Deidre and Joanna put some finishing touches on the binder before the parties started the day after graduation. They had gotten an 'A' on the assignment about a week ago from Mr. Kendrick, but had told their parents that they wouldn't get their grades until graduation day.

Deidre had text messaged Noah to come to her room before the parties. They showed him the finished product – Noah was so proud of what his sister and best friend had done for their parents, but he was also proud to know about his parents and about the people they were.

Deidre found Josh, Donna, Sam and Mallory sitting on the back deck of the Seaborn's house. Joanna was in search of Ainsley and Joe.

Deidre was very quiet as she watched the four of them talk. Mallory finally noticed her.

"Deidre! Something wrong?"

"No, no, no… not at all… it's just…"

"HOLD ON! We're coming!" Joanna busted through the door with Noah, Ainsley and Joe in tow.

Donna seemed concerned. "What's wrong? Oh dear god, please tell me you didn't do something that requires legal representation…"

Deidre rolled her eyes. "God, Mom!"

"Sorry, but you are your father's daughter…"

"Hey!" was all Josh was able to say before he noticed the purple binder behind Deidre's back. "Deidre, is that your Political Affairs project?"

She sheepishly pulled the binder out from behind her back. "Yeah, kind of. I… well we… we added some stuff after we got it back from Mr. Kendrick. We got an 'A' and well… well, we wanted you two to have it." And with that, she handed the project to her parents.

Josh got up to hug his daughter as Donna opened the binder.

"That's great DJ, an 'A'. Oh, what was the project…"

"Josh."

"… hold on Donna. You never told me…"

"Josh."

"…keep your pants on Donna. Anyway, what kind of research project…"

"JOSH!" Sam yelling his name finally got his attention

"What?"

With that, Donna held up the binder, open to the front page, which read 'The Bartlet Presidency by Deidre Lyman and Joanna Seaborn'.

Josh started to stammer. "What… how… why… that IDIOT teacher… doesn't he know… I'm going to kill him…"

It was Ainsley who grabbed Josh to calm him down.

"Look, Josh, I may be putting my head in the lion's mouth here, but this Mr. Kendrick… he didn't know. Look, the girls came to see me one day right after Christmas break. They came across the library website and were confused and wanted information. They came to see me and I told them everything… Joe and I did our best. After they left, I called and talked to Mr. Kendrick. He didn't know – he knew that he wasn't going to assign them the Santos Presidency, but he swore he had no idea about the Bartlet Presidency."

Josh was livid. "YOU told them? WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING?"

Ainsley had never been one to back down from a pissed off Josh Lyman. "I was thinking that it was better that they find out from someone in the know, someone who cares about them rather than someone who has a vendetta against you and Donna – that's what I was thinking."

"Thank you Ainsley." Donna said.

"DONNA!"

"Josh, just stop."

"But… but, they could have come to us."

"God, Dad, obviously you didn't want to talk about it or we would have already known. We wanted information and we thought Ainsley was our best bet. If you are going to be mad at someone, be mad at me – Ainsley was just trying to help!" Deidre got the same look on her face her dad got when he was mad and standing up for someone else.

Josh collapsed back into his chair. His daughter was making perfect sense.

"Dad, will you just look at the project, please?"

With that, the four of them started to turn the pages. Everything was there – Rosslyn, the MS disclosure, Qumar, the CODEL, the kidnapping, the car accident and funerals, pictures from the first campaign. They had articles, transcripts of interviews they had done with Ainsley, Joe, Danny Concannon, Ellie Bartlet and Carol Fitzgerald. They found everything – a transcript of Josh on Capitol Beat with Mary Marsh, transcripts of the night the White House got shot at, a picture of all of them standing in Rose Garden after he and Sam had tried to set fire to the White House. But, at the back was more than just the Bartlet legacy. The girls had added Josh and Donna's wedding invitation, pictures of the whole Bartlet group at the reception, pictures from Sam and Mallory's wedding, pictures of them visiting Manchester. They had found everything.

Donna started to cry.

"Mom? I didn't mean to make you cry… I just wanted you all to have this… I'm sorry."

Donna hugged her daughter. "Honey, its fine. Its things I haven't thought about for a long time, things I've tried to block out, but there are some great memories. Most of all, if it hadn't been for the Bartlets, your dad and I would never have met. I wouldn't have met Sam and Mallory and Ainsley and Joe and CJ and Toby and everyone else we know. Honey, it's beautiful. Thank you so much."

Deidre looked at her dad. "Daddy?"

He joined his wife and daughter in their hug. "Lots of great stories, if anyone is interested."

"Yeah!" yelled Deidre, Joanna and Noah. Everyone got a chair and sat down around the table to listen.

As the day became night, the group at the table got bigger. Zoey and Charlie had cried as they looked through the pages, but Zoey felt liberated at seeing all of this again. Each page brought out another funny story from CJ. Deidre observed the group – the walk of life that all these people had been on had made them the people sitting in front of her now, the adults she looked up to and would strive to be as she did her own walk through life.

The End!


End file.
